Biden’s DOE Awards $1.7 Billion for EV Manufacturing in 8 States

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $1.7 billion in grants to be awarded to automakers in eight states to assist with electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing.

The grants will help convert 11 “at risk” plants so that they can produce one million EVs each year and aid with the retention of 15,000 jobs while creating 3,000 new ones, reported Reuters.

The DOE plans to award Chrysler-parent Stellantis and General Motors (GM) almost $1.1 billion to convert existing plants for the production of EVs and components, the Biden administration said on Thursday.

“This announcement is a hallmark of the Biden administration’s industrial strategy, which is a strategy to bring manufacturing jobs back to America after years of offshoring,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said to reporters, as CNN reported.

^{President Joe Biden and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm at an event announcing grants for domestic battery manufacturers, at the White House on Oct. 19, 2022. White House photo by Adam Schultz}

Earlier this year, President Joe Biden quadrupled tariffs on Chinese EVs in an attempt to keep U.S. manufacturers competitive, but sales on new EVs have still slowed.

“Building a clean energy economy can and should be a win-win for union autoworkers and automakers. This investment will create thousands of good-paying, union manufacturing jobs and retain even more — from Lansing, Michigan to Fort Valley, Georgia — by helping auto companies retool, reboot, and rehire in the same factories and communities,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House. “These grants will help ensure the future of the auto industry is made in America by American union workers.”

Five hundred million in grant funds will be awarded to GM for conversion of its Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant to EVs, reported Reuters.

Granholm said more than a decade ago it had become clear that automakers “needed a federal partner especially to compete with other countries who were subsidizing their auto industries and that’s what this massive investment is all about.”

Stellantis will be awarded $334.8 million by the DOE to convert its closed Belvidere Assembly plant to manufacture EVs, as well as $250 million for the conversion of its Kokomo, Indiana Transmission Plant for the production of EV components.

Stellantis said the grant awards were “an important step in continuing to expand our electrified vehicle offerings,” as Reuters reported.

Hyundai Mobis will be given $32 million for the production of components and battery packs for plug-in hybrids.

Harley-Davidson will be awarded $89 million for the expansion of its plant in York, Pennsylvania for the manufacturing of EV motorcycles, Blue Bird will be given $80 million to convert a plant in Georgia to produce electric school buses and the Cummins engine company will receive $75 million for the conversion of part of an Indiana plant for electric powertrain systems and zero-emission components.

The Volvo Group will be granted $208 million to upgrade plants in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania to ramp up EV production capacity, and the DOE will give ZF North America $157 million for the conversion of part of its Michigan plant for the production of EV components.

Before the grants are finalized, the DOE must complete negotiations with the companies, as well as environmental reviews.

“This delivers on my commitment to never give up on the manufacturing communities and workers that were left behind by my predecessor,” Biden said in the statement.