(Credit: Pixabay)The Department of Energy has made $15.5 billion in funding and loans available to incentivize the transition to electric vehicles in the United States.
The package is primarily focused on retooling existing factories to support jobs and the transition to EVs. The DOE said it will offer $2 billion in grants and up to $10 billion in loans to support automotive conversion projects. Plus, the agency announced a Notice of Intent to make available $3.5 billion in funding for domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles and the nation’s grid, along with battery materials and components currently imported from other countries.
The funding package is part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which the White House launched in June 2023 to bring public and private sector investments to states and territories across America.
“President Biden is investing in the workforce and factories that made our country a global manufacturing powerhouse,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in a statement. “(These) announcements show that President Biden understands that building the cars of the future also necessitates helping the communities challenged by the transition away from the internal combustion engine.”
The $2 billion in grants, known as the Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grants for EVs, provide cost-shared grants for domestic production of efficient hybrid, plug-in electric hybrid, plug-in electric drive, and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles. The program aims to expand manufacturing of light-, medium-, and heavy-duty EVs and components, as well as support commercial facilities including those for vehicle assembly, component assembly, and related vehicle part manufacturing.
Plus the grants intend to support job transitions to electrified transportation, with special attention to communities with long histories in vehicle manufacturing and projects that commit to paying high wages to production workers and maintaining collective bargaining. Concept papers are due October 2, 2023, and the deadline for full applications is December 7, 2023.
The $10 billion in loans is available for applications under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program for automotive conversion projects, with special interest in retaining high-quality jobs in communities with manufacturing facilities. The DOE will assess the projected economic impacts of facility conversions, compared to the existing facility, including looking at local economic impact, employment history, anticipated employment, and duration of its existence.
The $3.5 billion available to boost production of advanced batteries and battery materials aims to support the creation of new, retrofitted, and expanded domestic commercial facilities for battery materials, battery components, and cell manufacturing. The DOE’s Notice of Intent outlines how the funding will support growing domestic industry, supporting manufacturing workers, and promote equity and environmental justice. In addition, it will support auto workers and applicants with strong workforce practices and those who intend to create high-paying jobs.
