(Dec 3): A joint venture between Samsung SDI Co and Stellantis NV to create battery manufacturing plants in Indiana is being offered US$7.5 billion (RM33.5 billion) in financing from the Biden administration.

The conditional loan to StarPlus Energy LLC would fund as many as two lithium-ion battery cell and module manufacturing plants in Kokomo, Indiana, for use in electric vehicles (EVs) manufactured by Stellantis, the US Energy Department announced on Monday.

“The project will greatly expand EV battery manufacturing capacity in North America, and reduce America’s reliance on adversarial foreign nations like China, as well as other foreign sourcing of EV batteries,” the Energy Department said in a blog post.

The funding, which could easily be cancelled by the incoming Trump administration if not finalised by inauguration day, follows last week’s conditional commitment for a US$6.6 billion federal loan to Rivian Automotive Inc. That would help fund Rivian’s planned EV battery factory in Georgia. 

Both companies will have to meet certain technical, legal, environmental and financial conditions to finalise the loans, which come as the EV industry faces a sales growth slowdown, and as many legacy automakers scale back their EV production targets.

The StarPlus Energy financing, which includes US$6.85 billion in principal and US$688 million in capitalised interest, comes as US President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to reverse Biden’s support for EVs, including the repeal of a popular US$7,500 tax credit for new EV purchases — a move that would require approval from Congress.

Indeed, Vivek Ramaswamy, one of the two nominated co-chairs of the soon-to-be Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), said in a post on X that the department would scrutinise the US$7.5 billion facility, as well as look at Rivian’s US$6.6 billion credit line.

“Doge will carefully scrutinise every one of these questionable 11th-hour transactions, starting on Jan 20,” Ramaswamy said.

Uploaded by Tham Yek Lee