Apr 18, 2022 - Economy

Loan commitment could bump U.S. battery market

Alan Neuhauser

The U.S. Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office (LPO) on Monday announced a conditional commitment to lend up to $107 million to expand production capacity for a critical minerals plant in Louisiana.

Why it matters: The loan, if finalized, would mark the first in more than a decade from the office's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) program.

It would also be ATVM's first loan to support a supply chain manufacturing project, the LPO said.

What's happening: The loan would expand the production capacity at the Syrah Vidalia Facility, in Vidalia, Louisiana.

The facility is owned by Syrah Technologies, LLC, a subsidiary of an Australian firm.
The expansion would enable the Vidalia Facility to produce more graphite-based active anode material for EV batteries.

Of note: Graphite for the facility would be sourced from a mining and processing operation in Balama, Mozambique, which is also owned and controlled by Syrah Technologies’ parent-owner, LPO said.

This would make the Syrah Vidalia Facility the first vertically integrated, large-scale producer of active anode material outside of China.

Requests for comment from the Department of Energy and Syrah were not immediately returned.

Get more details on this news in tomorrow's Axios Pro Climate Deals newsletter.

Add Axios on Google

Loan commitment could bump U.S. battery market

What to read next