USA: A loan of 2500 million to purchase electric batteries

A joint venture between General Motors and South Korean battery company LG Energy Solution is set to receive a $2.5 billion loan from the US Department of Energy to build electric car battery plants in three states.

The Department of Energy said it had made an initial pledge to lend the money to Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture between GM and LG. The Ultium loan will help fund three lithium-ion battery plants in Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, bolstering the Biden administration’s efforts to promote electric vehicles and reduce China’s reliance on critical components.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the plants will promote energy independence in America and support Biden’s goal of making electric vehicles account for half of the nation’s total car sales by 2030.

The factories are expected to create up to 6,000 jobs under construction and 5,100 in operation once they are completed. Ultium Cells is just weeks away from opening its first battery plant in Lordstown, Ohio, which it says will help meet strong demand for electric vehicles.

Ultium will supply batteries to GM, which is working to convert its entire fleet to electric vehicles by 2035.

This loan, he said, would be the first exclusively for the production of lithium-ion batteries under the Modern Automotive Manufacturing Program, which provides loans to producers of light vehicles, qualified components and fuel-efficient materials in the United States. of energy.

Jigar Shah, director of the ministry’s loan office, said the loan to Ultium would “help establish a national supply chain to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles” and “create thousands of well-paying jobs in three states, while enabling improvements in lithium-ion battery technologies.” current.”