The US government has given its final approval for a multi-billion-dollar low-cost loan to BlueOval SK LLC, the US-based electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing joint venture between South Korea’s SK On Company and Ford Motor Company, to help fund the construction of battery manufacturing capacity in the country.
The outgoing Biden administration finally signed off on the US$9.63bn federal loan this week, after the Department of Energy (DOE) gave its preliminary approval last year under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM), a programme put in place to support domestic production of fuel-efficient vehicles. The current US government set a target for half of all new vehicles sold in the country to be zero-emissions models by 2030.
The loan will help BlueOval SK complete the construction of three battery manufacturing plants, one in Tennessee and two in Kentucky, with a combined production capacity of 120 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of batteries – enough to power approximately 1.2 million EVs.
BlueOval SK, established in 2021, is investing a total of US$11.4bn in the three plants, two of which are scheduled to be completed in 2025. They will supply batteries for future Ford and Lincoln EV models.
The DOE said the three facilities have created more than 5,000 jobs during the construction phase and 7,500 permanent jobs will be created once the plants are operational, adding that the facilities “will help ensure the US can meet domestic demand and remain a global leader in the rapidly expanding EV industry.”
