Energy

The Department of Energy will give an $850 million loan to battery cell developer KORE Power for the construction of a domestic battery manufacturing plant, The Hill reports.

What’s going on: The DOE on Friday announced the conditional loan to build “KOREPlex” in Buckeye, Arizona, as part of a broader strategy to “strengthen the U.S.’s supply chain for batteries for electric vehicles as well as for energy storage,” according to The Hill.

• It’s a milestone in the Biden administration’s objective to make half of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2030 zero-emissions, according to the DOE.

Why it’s important: Once operational, the facility is expected to produce enough battery-cell storage to power more than 28,000 electric vehicles annually, the DOE said.

• The project is slated to create as many as 700 temporary construction jobs and 1,250 permanent operations positions.