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Biden Admin To Give $375 Million Loan To Schumer-Supported Firm

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has extended a conditional loan of $375 million to Canadian battery recycler Li-Cycle Holdings Corp., to construct a hub in Rochester, New York, the company announced Monday.

The loan will be disbursed through the DOE’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) Program, and is part of the Biden administration’s wider goal of enhancing domestic battery manufacturing and having half of all new vehicles be zero-emission by 2030, according to the DOE Monday. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York — who visited Li-Cycle’s Rochester hub in September — advocated for the firm to receive federal funding, Reuters reported.

“Last year, I stood alongside Li-Cycle’s powerhouse workforce and promised I would push to deliver federal funding to spark more growth, and now thanks to the investments I secured in the Inflation Reduction Act, Rochester will help power America’s drive to lead in battery technology,” Schumer said in the company’s press release. “This DOE investment in Li-Cycle will reduce our reliance on China and strengthen America’s battery supply chain.”

Today and thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act we passed:

I’m announcing that Rochester’s Li-Cycle is being awarded a game-changing $375 million loan from @ENERGY creating good-paying jobs and powering Upstate NY as a global battery hub.https://t.co/viWRlPNgLl

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) February 27, 2023

The loan is the fifth ATVM loan announced in the past year, and the program still has roughly $50 billion in additional loaning authority remaining, according to the DOE. Most recently, the program authorized a $2 billion conditional loan to Redwood Materials, a battery materials company founded by Tesla co-founder J.B. Straubel.

President Joe Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction act appropriated an additional $3 billion to the ATVM and removed cap on loans, according to The White House.

The facility is expected to recycle enough chemicals to be used in more than 200,000 electric vehicle batteries, according to the DOE. The facility is expected to be the first North American facility that can recycle battery-grade lithium, the supply of which is currently dominated by China.

“The Rochester Hub is a cornerstone asset for Li-Cycle and its stakeholders and will be an important contributor to the clean energy economy,” CEO and co-founder Ajay Kochhar said in the company’s press release. “As a sustainable pure-play battery material recycling company, we expect the Rochester Hub will position Li-Cycle as a leading domestic producer of recycled battery-grade materials for accelerating electrification demand to address climate change and secure energy independence.”

Li-Cycle and the DOE did not immediately respond to a Daily Caller News Foundation request for comment.