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The Department of Energy appears to have been on a loan approval spree in the run-up to the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, and the winners are all the companies making clean energy solutions on American soil.
Trump promised this Cancels Any unspent federal dollars under President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, a bipartisan climate law that allocated billions to build a domestic clean energy supply chain. The IRA also stimulated a wave of private investment. In particular, automakers and battery manufacturers have collectively invested or promised to invest about $112 billion in building domestic factories to manufacture cells and modules for electric vehicles. These factories have greatly benefited Republican-led communities.
The new loans come from two DOE loan programs — the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program and the Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program — that the IRA revived and expanded, respectively.
The ATVM program in particular, which remained dormant under the first Trump administration, once provided a much-needed $465 million loan to Tesla in 2009, helping to save the electric car maker from one of several near-death experiences. It has diminished under the Trump administration.
The GM-LG Energy Solution joint venture was the first to receive a $2.5 billion loan under the ATVM program in 2022 under the Biden administration.
One of the conditions of these loans is that borrowers “engage meaningfully with community and business stakeholders to create good-paying jobs and improve the well-being of the local community and workers.”
Over the past week, the Department of Energy approved or conditionally approved four loans totaling about $14.7 billion. We’re tracking where the Biden administration’s Department of Energy loan money is going. Here are some of the biggest new recipients.
EOS energy companies
On December 3, The Department of Energy closed a $303.5 million loan Guaranteed ($277.5 million in capital and $26 million in capitalized interest) to Eos Energy Enterprises to finance construction of two production lines that promise to produce enough stationary batteries annually to meet the electricity needs of 130,000 homes.
The project is expected to create up to 1,000 job opportunities.
Stellantis and Samsung (StarPlus Energy)
On December 2, the Department of Energy approved a conditional loan commitment of up to $7.54 billion ($6.85 billion in principal, $688 in interest) to the government. Star Plus Energya joint venture formed by automaker Stellantis and South Korean battery manufacturer Samsung SDI. If completed, the loan will finance two lithium-ion battery cell and module plants being built in Kokomo, Indiana.
The project is expected to create approximately 3,200 jobs in construction and 2,800 jobs in factory operations. At peak production, the plants are expected to produce 67 gigawatt hours of battery capacity, enough to power 670,000 cars annually.
Sunwealth
Clean energy investment firm Sunwealth on November 25 scored a point Loan guarantee Up to $289.7 million for its Polo project. If completed, the loan will finance the deployment of up to 1,000 solar PV and battery energy storage systems at commercial and industrial facilities across up to 27 states.
The Polo project is expected to create 3,700 jobs, including 1,900 solar installation and storage jobs and 1,700 operation and maintenance jobs.
Rivian
Rivian on November 25 received a conditional $6.6 billion loan commitment to help it resume construction of its massive electric vehicle factory in Georgia. Rivian expects to begin operations at the factory in 2028, and will employ 7,500 people by 2030.
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