The Department of Energy announced Tuesday the early repayment of a loan it had made to a major electric vehicle battery project.
Ultium Cells, a joint venture between General Motors and South Korea’s LG Energy Solution, has paid off the loan it received to manufacture lithium-ion batteries in Ohio and Tennessee. The move means those projects are no longer subject to the onerous requirements and check-ins that come with federal loans.
GM telegraphed the early repayment earlier this month, telling investors on a phone call that it would loan Ultium $1.8 billion to pay off the federal loan. That essentially shifted the debt to GM’s balance sheet.
The joint venture’s “simplified capital structure will allow it to grow and evolve with even greater flexibility,” Paul Jacobson, GM’s chief financial officer, said on the call.
