GM, LG to receive $2.5B loan
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Energy has finalized a $2.5 billion loan to Ultium Cells LLC, the EV battery joint venture between General Motors Co. and South Korean battery company LG Energy Solution, officials said Monday.
First announced as a “conditional commitment” in July, the loan is the Energy Department’s first loan for battery cell production under its Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program.
“As electric cars and trucks continue to grow in popularity within the United States and around the world, we must seize the chance to make advanced batteries – the heart of this growing industry – right here at home,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said at the time.
GM also received $824.1 million in incentives for its EV and battery projects from the State of Michigan earlier this year for battery production plans.
GM and LG have four planned U.S. battery plants. The only one producing battery cells for GM’s EVs so far is located in Warren, Ohio.
The Ultium Cells plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, will open late next year, and it just received a $275 million investment for expansion there.
A third plant is under construction in Delta Township near Lansing and will open in 2024. GM and LG are considering a site in New Carlisle, Indiana, for the location of a fourth plant.
Rivian pulls Mercedes deal
Rivian is shelving plans to jointly build electric vans in Europe with Mercedes-Benz AG, aborting a deal signed just three months ago to share costs and technology.
Rivian will no longer pursue the memorandum of understanding signed with the German automaker in September to invest in and jointly operate an existing Mercedes plant, the U.S. company said in a statement Monday.
Mercedes said separately that the factory it was going to share with Rivian in Jawor, Poland, will produce medium and large vans that will hit the market in 2025.
“At this point in time, we believe focusing on our consumer business, as well as our existing commercial business, represent the most attractive near-term opportunities to maximize value for Rivian,” Chief Executive Officer RJ Scaringe said in Rivian’s statement.
Walking away from an agreement that would have eased the path to entering a new market represents another setback to Rivian’s ambitions to challenge Tesla for electric vehicle leadership.
After staging one of the biggest U.S. initial public offerings ever just over a year ago, the company flagged that its factory would only produce half the number of vehicles it has capacity to build this year, due to supply chain issues.
California plans wind farms
California has taken the first step in what will be a very deep dive into energy generation from offshore wind farms.
The federal government completed an auction last week that reaped $757.1 million from five different companies to lease more than 373,000 acres off the central and northern coasts of the Golden State.
Policymakers eager to meet state and national clean energy goals are counting on the companies in the coming years to build an array of massive wind turbines that will float on the water and send a bonanza of clean energy via underwater cables to power stations onshore.
“Offshore wind is a critical component to achieving our world-leading clean energy goals and this sale is an historic step on California’s march toward a future free of fossil fuels,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statement.
The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management supervised the auction and has estimated the five leased areas have the potential to produce about 4.6 gigawatts of energy, enough to power more than 1.5 million homes.
From wire reports