DOE closes $9.63B loan to BOSK for construction of Ford EV battery plants

The U.S. Department of Energy said in a release on Monday: “As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy’s or DOE Loan Programs Office LPO announced the closing of a direct loan of up to $9.63B to BlueOval or BOSK for the construction of up to three manufacturing plants to produce batteries for Ford (F) Motor Company’s future Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles EVs. Together, the plants, one located in Tennessee and two in Kentucky, would enable more than 120 gigawatt hours of U.S. battery production annually. The three facilities created more than 5,000 construction jobs as the plants were being built and will create up to 7,500 BOSK operations jobs. Today’s announcement-the largest loan granted through DOE’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Program ATVM,will help ensure the United States can meet domestic demand and remain a global leader in the rapidly expanding EV industry. BOSK is a joint venture between Ford Motor Company and SK On, a world leading Korean EV battery manufacturer. BOSK was created to supply Ford with batteries for its growing EV product line. Today’s announcement reinforces President Biden’s historic efforts to onshore and re-shore domestic manufacturing and ensure American businesses remain global leaders in technologies of the future. Expanding domestic production of American-made batteries is critical to reducing America’s reliance on adversarial foreign nations like China, meeting the Nation’s domestic and international climate commitments, and achieving President Biden’s goal to make half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 zero-emissions vehicles…”