Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
The House GOP's Microvast investigation is now turning to other battery supply chain companies selected for federal funds.
Why it matters: It's beginning to feel as if political pressure can threaten federal support for any firm if it has ties to dealings in China.
Driving the news: Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight Chair Morgan Griffith told Axios Wednesday his panel will now be closely examining the companies that were picked for funds last year alongside Microvast, a tech firm headquartered in the U.S. with some business in China.
- The Energy Department pulled out of funding Microvast after Republicans and Sen. Joe Manchin complained about its selection.
- A second company also has lost funding: battery tech firm Amprius. Energy Department supply chain official David Howell mentioned that decision to Griffith at a hearing earlier in the day when the congressman asked about the department's vetting for China ties.
- Howell said these withdrawals were evidence of DOE's "vetting process" and that the agency will now "do more vetting" before a company is selected to negotiate on an award.
Between the lines: Republicans still want to know how much investment from China is too much in the Energy Department's eyes.
- Griffith said he's open to compelling the department to cooperate if they don't provide additional information, and floated asking the inspector general to investigate this subject.
What they're saying: Jigar Shah, director of DOE's Loan Programs Office, wasn't involved with the Microvast decision. But at an event Tuesday, he gave a detailed explanation of how his office vets for undue foreign influence.
- Shah cited the LPO's recent conditional loan commitment to KORE Power, a company building a battery plant in Arizona that he said will use some tech from a Chinese firm.
- "There are these best practices we can put in place ... I just don't think we're going to meet the president's goals without foreign direct investment in the United States."
