DOE finalizes $2.26B loan for Nevada lithium project

By Hannah Northey | 10/29/2024 06:45 AM EDT

The Department of Energy is backing the Thacker Pass project to provide lithium for electric vehicles.

A construction worker at the Lithium Nevada mine site Thacker Pass.

Construction at the Lithium Nevada Corp. mine site Thacker Pass project on April 24, 2023, near Orovada, Nevada. Rick Bowmer/AP

The Biden administration closed a $2.26 billion loan Monday for a project that will process lithium from one of the largest deposits in the nation for electric vehicle batteries.

The loan is part of the administration’s goal of shoring up critical minerals and building up EV supply chains while reducing reliance on China, which dominates processing of the mineral.

Jigar Shah, who leads the Department of Energy’s loan office, shared in an online post that DOE has put the finishing touches on its commitment — first unveiled in March — to support construction of Lithium Americas’ refining plant in Humboldt County at its Thacker Pass mine.

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The project, about 230 miles northeast of Reno in Humboldt County, will initially pump out up to 40,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate each year for EV batteries.

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