New Roundup

DOE Makes Conditional Commitment to Finance Nevada Lithium Production

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has offered a conditional commitment to loan $700 million to a new lithium mining and mineral processing project in Nevada. Ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge project will mine lithium and boron and produce lithium carbonate for use in lithium-ion batteries. DOE’s loan will be for the mineral processing portion and the agency estimates that this project could support up to 370,000 EVs per year.

This conditional commitment follows final commitments to two other lithium-ion battery supply chain projects: a $102 million loan to Syrah Vidalia, which will process active anode material, and a $2.5 billion loan to battery cell maker Ultium Cells. All three of these loans are being made under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program. If finalized, the loan to Ioneer would be the first to support the processing of lithium, a part of the global supply chain dominated by China.

Source: LPO Announces Conditional Commitment to Ioneer Rhyolite Ridge to Advance Domestic Production of Lithium and Boron, Boost U.S. Battery Supply Chain (Department of Energy)

Mercedes-Benz, ChargePoint to Launch EV Charging Network

Mercedes-Benz has announced that it has teamed up with EV charging provider ChargePoint to build out a global network of charging stations, starting in North America. Mercedes and MN8, a developer that spun out of Goldman Sachs, plan to jointly invest “just over 1 billion Euros” to build out a network of over 400 charging hubs the United States and Canada over the next 6-7 years. Each hub will offer 4-30 charging ports, for a total of more than 2,500 chargers.

While the chargers will be available to drivers of other vehicles, Mercedes-Benz customers will have the option of reserving chargers in advance.

News analysis: ChargePoint and Mercedes-Benz team up to bring hundreds of fast charging hubs to EV drivers (Electrek)