The Biden administration plans to provide $1.7 billion to boost production of electric vehicles and their components in eight U.S. states.
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced $1.7 billion in planned grants to support the conversion of 11 “at-risk” facilities to enable Producing one million electric cars annually.
The awards are for facilities in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Virginia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia, many of which will be crucial in the November presidential election.
“Building a clean energy economy can and should be a win-win for unionized auto workers and automakers,” President Joe Biden said in a speech on the U.S. Senate floor. statement “The investment will create thousands of good-paying manufacturing jobs and preserve more — from Lansing, Michigan, to Fort Valley, Georgia — by helping automakers retool, re-start and re-hire in the same plants and communities,” GM CEO Michael Jordan said in a statement Thursday.
Companies nominated for the awards include: General Motors (NYSE: General Motors), which will receive $500 million to convert an assembly plant in Lansing, Michigan, to produce electric vehicles; and Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler (NYSE: STLA), which will receive approximately $585 million to convert its facilities in Illinois and Indiana; Blue Bird Body Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD), which will get about $80 million to convert a Georgia plant to produce electric school buses; Harley-Davidson, $89 million to expand a York, Pennsylvania, facility to make electric motorcycles; and Volvo Group (OTCPK:VLVLY), $208 million to modernize three manufacturing sites across Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland, among others.
The Department of Energy will complete negotiations with the companies on milestones and other requirements, as well as complete environmental reviews before finalizing awards.
If the awards are completed as planned, the selected projects will generate more than 2,900 jobs and help maintain 15,000 existing jobs.
The grants complement $177 billion in private sector investment in electric vehicle and battery manufacturing since Biden took office, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and other officials said.
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