Battery materials company Novonix has received a conditional loan commitment of up to $754.8 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The funding, if finalized, will partially finance the construction of a new synthetic graphite production facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee, aimed at supporting the electric vehicle (EV) battery supply chain.
The new facility is expected to reach full capacity by the end of 2028, producing approximately 31,500 tonnes of synthetic graphite annually. This output could support the production of lithium-ion batteries for about 325,000 EVs each year. Novonix has indicated that production capacity could eventually expand to 75,000 tonnes per year.
This will be Novonix’s second production facility in Chattanooga. The first facility is set to commence operations next year with an annual output of 20,000 tonnes, serving major customers including Stellantis, Volkswagen subsidiary PowerCo, Panasonic, and LG Energy Solution. Recently, Stellantis and PowerCo signed agreements with Novonix for the potential supply of up to 115,000 tonnes and at least 32,000 tonnes of synthetic graphite material, respectively.
The conditional loan commitment includes $692 million in principal and $62.8 million in capitalized interest, to be provided through the DOE’s Loan Programs Office. Prior to this, Novonix was awarded a $100 million grant from the DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains and was selected for a $103 million investment tax credit to fund the Riverside facility.
Novonix CEO Chris Burns commented: “This announcement is the culmination of years of hard work and is another critical milestone for our anode materials business towards our target production of 150,000 tpa in North America,” said Novonix CEO Chris Burns. “This conditional commitment from the government to invest in our new facility continues to underscore the focus on localizing critical materials in the battery supply chain, such as graphite.”
He added, “Recent announcements from China to further scrutinize the export of battery-grade graphite to the United States highlight the importance of domestic production of high-performance, battery-grade synthetic graphite. Our offtake agreements with strong partners have strengthened our leadership in onshoring the synthetic graphite supply chain in North America and supporting the path towards US energy independence.”
Source: Electrive
