The U.S. Department of Energy’s loans office said on Tuesday it issued a conditional loan of up to USD 1.2 billion to ENTEK Lithium Separators LLC to finance a plant in Indiana for making lithium-ion battery separators used mostly in electric vehicles.
Battery separators play a key role in the performance and safety of lithium-ion batteries.
Based on current factors chosen by battery cell manufacturers, the project will support roughly 1.9 million mid-size EVs or 1.3 million electric sports utility vehicles, ENTEK said in a release. The project, in Terre Haute, Indiana is expected to create more than 760 construction jobs and 635 operational jobs, it said.
“There has never been a more exciting time to be a manufacturer in the battery industry,” ENTEK CEO Larry Keith said in a release.
If finalized, the loan would be offered through the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, which provides loans to support U.S. manufacturing of advanced technology vehicles, qualifying components, and materials that improve fuel economy.
The separators produced at the plant will be able to accommodate all existing lithium-ion EV battery chemistries, the LPO said. ENTEK will also be able to sell its separators to manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries for energy storage applications.
The Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office said the conditional loan supports President Joe Biden’s “comprehensive strategy to build a safer, more sustainable transportation system and slash all greenhouse emissions from the transportation sector by 2050.”
ENTEK must satisfy technical, legal, environmental, and financial conditions before the LPO enters into definitive financing documents and funds the loan.
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