Biden administration announces $2B loan for electric vehicle battery manufacturing

The Biden administration on Thursday announced that it would issue a $2 billion loan to a battery manufacturing facility as it looks to bolster the country’s supply chain for electric vehicles. 

“The Department of Energy is proud to announce a conditional commitment for a $2 billion loan to Redwood Materials,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Thursday during a press conference.  

“If finalized, this $2 billion loan is going to help Redwood to complete this project to produce critical components for EV batteries.”

She did not elaborate on what the conditions of the commitment are. The Hill has reached out to the Energy Department for clarification. 

The loan would go to Redwood Materials for the expansion of a battery materials facility in McCarren, Nevada. 

The facility recycles batteries from electronics including cell phones, laptops and power tools and uses those materials to make components of electric vehicle batteries, according to the department. 

Redwood Materials founder and CEO JB Straubel said that with its expansion in the coming years, the facility will be able to produce materials for about a million electric vehicles each year. 

“This is a huge number, it’s a momentous project, but it will take many projects like this one, many companies like us, to do this,” Straubel said. “There is an incredible amount of work overall for our country ahead of us as we transition to a sustainable energy economy.”

The announcement was also celebrated by Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R).

Lombardo joins other Republican governors who have celebrated climate-friendly manufacturing coming to their home state despite the party’s continued support for fossil fuels. 

About 1,600 full-time jobs and 3,400 construction jobs are expected to be created by the loan from the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office. 

The loan office has contributed to successful companies like Tesla. But, its high profile loan to Solyndra, a solar energy start-up that eventually went bankrupt, has led to GOP skepticism of the office broadly.