The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has confirmed the cancellation of approximately $720 million in manufacturing grants awarded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The funding, which was authorized by Congress in 2021 and largely awarded in 2023 and 2024, supported projects focused on battery materials production, lithium-ion battery recycling, and the manufacture of high-performance insulation technologies.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright reviewed the awards issued during the previous administration and determined that the associated projects had “missed milestones” and “did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs,” according to DOE spokesperson Ben Dietderich. These cancellations follow earlier actions by the Trump administration targeting grants made between Election Day and Inauguration Day as part of a broader contract review.
Three startups are directly affected by the decision.
Ascend Elements, which has developed a process to convert manufacturing waste and end-of-life batteries into critical precursors for new lithium-ion cells, was awarded $316 million toward a planned $1 billion recycling facility in Kentucky. To date, $206 million has been disbursed. The company said it will continue its development work by tapping alternative funding sources.
Anovion, based in Alabama, had received $117 million to reshore synthetic graphite production for battery anodes—a segment currently dominated by Chinese suppliers who control roughly 75% of the global supply chain and 97% of anode output. Federal records show just $13.8 million has been released to date for its planned manufacturing plant.
Detroit-area startup LuxWall secured $31.7 million in November 2023 to build a factory producing high-performance window panels that rival solid walls in insulation efficiency. Only $1 million has been disbursed so far, and the company opened the first phase of its facility in August 2024.
These grants were designed to help emerging companies bridge the “valley of death” between technology development and full-scale deployment. By kick-starting first-of-a-kind factories, the DOE aimed to attract private investment, bolster domestic manufacturing capacity, and provide a model for future facilities. With these cancellations, affected companies and industry observers will monitor how funding realignments influence the U.S. clean energy manufacturing landscape.
Source: TechCrunch
