U.S. Energy Department Announces $7.5 Billion Conditional Commitment for EV Battery Factories in Indiana

The U.S. Energy Department on Dec. 2 announced a conditional commitment for a $7.54 billion loan to StarPlus Energy to construct two lithium-ion electric vehicle battery manufacturing facilities in Kokomo, Indiana. Once operational, the annual manufacturing capacity of the sites would reach 67 GWh, which could power 670,000 EVs. The department estimates these electric vehicles could avoid around 260 million gallons of petroleum annually.

StarPlus Energy is a collaboration between Samsung SDI and the subsidiary of automotive company Stellantis N.V., FCA US LLC. Stellantis will purchase the batteries from the Indiana manufacturing plants for their North American EV models.

The loan would be offered through the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing, or ATVM, Loan Program, which finances projects that bolster the domestic manufacturing of advanced technology vehicles in the U.S.

Last month, the department offered a $6.6 billion conditional loan to build a Georgia EV manufacturing facility through the ATVM program. In early November, the department also finalized a $445 million loan for a lithium battery recycling facility in New York through the loan program.

Efforts to address the transportation sector’s significant contribution to carbon emissions have fueled rising demand for zero-emission vehicles in the U.S. The Biden administration established a nationwide target for 50 percent of new vehicle sales to be ZEVs by 2030.