Rivian, Plug Power Win DOE Backing for Major Green Developments

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Electric vehicle (EV) maker Rivian Automotive Incorporated (Irvine, California) and green-hydrogen developer Plug Power Incorporated (NASDAQ:PLUG) (Latham, New York) are expected to receive some last-minute support from the outgoing Biden administration, as the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is set to finalize billions of dollars in financing for the two companies, according to Bloomberg. Industrial Info is tracking more than $10 billion worth of active projects across the U.S. from Rivian and Plug Power, which have major projects under construction in Illinois and New York, respectively.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing active and planned projects from Rivian and Plug Power, by project type.

The lion's share of the funding will go to Rivian, which received a conditional commitment for a $6.6 billion loan in November for an EV plant in Social Circle, Georgia. The DOE is expected to close the loan this week, which will help Rivian install equipment and facilities to produce 400,000 EVs annually, along with a 50-gigawatt-hour (GWh) lithium-ion battery-cell factory. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project and Plant databases can learn more from a detailed project report and plant profile.

The loan substantially improves the project's chances of beginning construction in early 2026, as currently planned. Before the loan was announced, Industrial Info classified the project as "on hold," with a low probability of moving forward as planned. For more information, see December 04, 2024, article - Rivian Secures Conditional $6 Bn Loan for EV Plant Construction.

Rivian started construction last year on a $3.25 billion expansion of its EV plant in Normal, Illinois, after it received $827 million in funding from the state. The company is adding 1.14 million square feet of space to its 3.08 million-square-foot plant, which is expected to increase production of its R2 model from 150,000 to 215,000 vehicles annually. The project is expected to wrap up in the first quarter of 2026. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report and plant profile.

Plug Power, which is expected to receive almost $1.7 billion from the DOE to construct hydrogen plants, also is pursuing a project in Georgia. The company hopes to expand capacity at its green hydrogen plant in Woodbine, which would double capacity to 30 metric tons per day. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report and plant profile.

"We continue to optimize the first global green hydrogen plant in Georgia, which, combined with our Tennessee facility, provides us 25 tons per day of capacity and close to half our current annual hydrogen needs," said Paul Middleton, the chief financial officer of Plug Power, in a recent earnings-related conference call.

Earlier this week, Plug Power announced it had signed a purchase agreement with Allied Green Ammonia Pty (Perth, Australia), in which Plug Power will supply the developer's green hydrogen-to-ammonia plant in Nhulunbuy, Australia, with 3 gigawatts (GW) of electrolyzer capacity. In return, the Australian company will install a 4.5-GW solar plant to power the Plug electrolyzers. Subscribers can learn more about Allied Green's plant in a detailed project report and plant profile.

Financing for Rivian and Plug Power comes from the DOE's Loan Programs Office, which has been a target of criticism from President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20. In his first term, Trump asked Congress to end the program altogether, but he failed to attract enough votes. With slimmer Republican majorities in the House of Representatives this time around--as well as measured support for green energy projects from some Republican-led states where the developments are located--a second Trump administration instead might try to redirect the loan program's efforts toward fossil-fuel projects.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of detailed reports for active and planned projects across the U.S. from Rivian and Plug Power.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).