US earmarks $3bn to boost battery supply chain

Spanish Market: Battery materials, Metals
20/09/24

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected 25 projects across 14 states to potentially receive more than $3bn to build out domestic supply of batteries, their components and critical materials including lithium, manganese and graphite.

The proposed recipients will "retrofit, expand and build" manufacturing and recycling facilities across the US, targeting different stages of the battery production supply chain, the DOE said on Thursday. Projects include those for advancing direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology, producing cathode active material (CAM) and developing components for battery separators.

More than $1bn is planned for five projects, with Standard Lithium and Equinor's SWA Lithium joint venture and TerraVolta Resources each possibly getting $225mn for their DLE undertakings.

Cirba Solutions and Group14 Technologies were next with $200mn for the former's lithium-ion battery recycling centre and the latter's silane manufacturing plant, while EnergySys Advanced Systems could receive $199mn for its site, where it intends to produce battery cells.

The funding, which will be administered by the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC), is being made available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Final award totals are contingent on negotiations between applicants and the DOE, along with environmental reviews of each proposed project.

The DOE already dispersed more than $1.8bn for 14 projects in October 2022 during the first round of awards funding under the MESC's battery materials processing and battery manufacturing and recycling programmes.

By Alex Nicoll

List of selected projects
Company name	Project location	Proposed funding amount	Targeted output	Proposed production capacity
SWA Lithium LLC	Lewisville, AR	$225,000,000	Lithium carbonate	45,000t
TerraVolta Resources	Texarkana region	$225,000,000	Lithium carbonate	25,000t
Cirba Solutions	Columbia, SC	$200,000,000	Metal salts from recycled batteries	60,000t of batteries
Group14 Technologies	Moses Lake, WA	$200,000,000	Silane gas	N/A
EnerSys Advanced Systems	Piedmont, SC	$198,679,760	Lithium-ion battery cells	5 GW/h
South32 Hermosa	Patagonia, AZ	$166,175,802	Manganese sulfate monohydrate	185,000t
Element 25 (Louisiana)	Baton Rouge, LA	$166,128,094	Manganese sulfate monohydrate	65,000t
SKI US	Orangeburg, SC	$150,000,000	Synthetic graphite	25,000t
Form Energy	Weirton, WV	$150,000,000	Iron-air batteries	20GWh
Clarios Circular Solutions	Florence, SC	$150,000,000	CAM from recycled batteries	20,000t
American Battery Technology	South Carolina	$150,000,000	Battery materials from recycled batteries	100,000t
Revex Technologies	Champion MI; Gwinn, MI	$145,000,000	Nickel concentrate black mass from spent batteries	21,250t 16,000t
Honeywell International	Geismar, LA	$126,586,497	Lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide	N/A
Ascend Elements	Hopkinsville, KY	$125,000,000	Recycled graphite	N/A
Urbix	Muscle Shoals, AL	$124,638,300	Coated spherical purified graphite	10,000t
DOW Chemical	US Gulf Coast	$100,000,000	Carbonate solvents	N/A
Forge Battery	Morrisville, NC	$100,000,000	Lithium-ion battery cells	3GWh
Mitra Future Technologies	Muskegon, MI	$100,000,000	Lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) CAM	30,000t
Albemarle US	Charlotte, NC	$67,075,044	Lithium metal anode material	50t
NanoGraf	Flint, MI	$60,000,000	Silicon monoxide anode material	2,500t
Li Industries	Kettering, OH	$55,243,798	LFP CAM	10,000t
Blue Whale Materials	Bartlesville, OK	$55,232,669	Black mass from recycled batteries	50,000t
Braskem America	La Porte, TX	$50,000,000	Ultra-high molecularweight polethylene	N/A
Cabot	Van Buren Township, MI	$50,000,000	Carbon nanotubes Conductive additive dispersions	1,000t 12,000t
Solid Power Operating	Thornton, Co	$50,000,000	Sulfide-based solid electrolyte	N/A
— US Department of Energy

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