Last October, DOE canceled $700 million worth of battery and manufacturing projects grants, including American Battery’s grant, saying the projects either didn’t meet certain milestones, were not economically viable or would not “adequately advance the nation’s energy needs.” American Battery says it was one of “hundreds” of grants that were canceled in that process.

In 2022, the DOE had initially selected American Battery for a five-year grant to help build the first phase of the refinery, located on what CEO Ryan Melsert described during a May 11 earnings call as “one of the largest identified lithium deposits in the U.S.”

Read more in Utility Dive here.

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