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Pentagon offers battery materials startup 6K conditional $250M loan for Tennessee factory
6K, a 12-year-old startup based in North Andover, Massachusetts, announced it has won conditional approval for a $250 million loan from the Department of Defense to build a factory in Tennessee, as reported by TechCrunch. The plant will use a microwave-powered plasma process to make cathode material without relying on Chinese suppliers, and the company says it can work across several battery types, including lithium iron phosphate (LFP). A $50 million Department of Energy grant awarded in 2023 was cancelled by the Trump administration, forcing 6K to reapply, and the factory, originally slated to open in 2024, was delayed by the cancellation and uncertainty in the EV market.
Why it matters
Defence-backed funding for domestic cathode supply points to a possible non-Chinese source of battery materials, which could matter for the long-term cost and sourcing of stationary storage and charging-linked batteries. It also shows how federal support is shifting from energy grants to defence financing, a signal for anyone planning around US battery supply chains.