WIXOM, Michigan — A battery recycling company operating in this small Michigan city near Detroit is in the crosshairs of the Trump administration’s cost-cutting review, something the area’s Democratic House member says could backfire.
During a visit last week, Rep. Haley Stevens questioned why the Department of Energy continues to review a $200 million grant Cirba Solutions was awarded last year to build a lithium-ion recycling facility in South Carolina.
That Biden-era grant has been swept up in DOE’s ongoing review of critical mineral, battery and manufacturing awards that’s led to the cancellation of about $700 million for projects across the country.
“It’s the letter of the law that needs to be lived up to in regard to federal grants and promises that were made,” Stevens said. “And why would we be throwing the baby out with the bathwater in terms of being able to compete.”
