DOE to Fund Third Round of Battery Manufacturing Projects
The Energy Department will deploy up to $725 million to increase domestic production of battery critical materials, advanced batteries and battery components (DOE).
What’s going on: The notice of intent, released last Friday, reopens the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing opportunity for a third round of funding.
- The DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains announced the first award ($1.82 billion to 14 battery manufacturing projects) in 2022 and the second ($3 billion to projects in 14 states) in September.
The details: This latest round has “a focus on facilities that support the energy independence of the United States through circularity and secure sourcing,” including through:
- The production and recycling of anode and cathode materials;
- The creation of U.S. manufacturing capacity to produce electrolyte and electrolyte salts;
- The acceleration of “pathways to commercialization of new battery and domestic manufacturing equipment/machinery technologies” by increasing availability of shared-access battery manufacturing lines; and
- The creation of American manufacturing capacity to make battery materials and components or “enable process technologies.”
The terms: The office intends to award as many as 14 grants, each of which may vary in amount from $50 million to $200 million. The performance period—the time during which recipients are expected to complete the promised activities—will vary from two to five years.
What’s next: The MESC intends to issue the funding opportunities in the spring via the DOE’s Infrastructure Exchange site. Register here to sign up for official notifications about this opportunity.