How the US government is charging up the American battery industry

The US Department of Energy is on a roll when it comes to backing the US domestic battery industry.  In July, the agency’s Loan Programs Office announced a conditional commitment of up to $1.2 billion for a direct loan to battery separator, extruder, and engineering services company ENTEK to finance a lithium-ion battery separator facility in Indiana.  In June, the DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy, announced it would give $20 million to solid-state battery company ION Storage Systems for the development and commercialization of the company’s solid-state lithium-metal batteries.  In this episode, correspondent Camellia Moors speaks with Chelsea Sexton, director of the DOE’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loan Program; Kim Medford, president for manufacturing at ENTEK; and Ricky Hannah, CEO and board director of ION, about what the federal government’s support means for the industry and US energy transition goals.  Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications. Veteran journalists Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall co-host the show, which routinely features regular correspondents Camilla Naschert and Camellia Moors.