Dive Brief:
- The Department of Energy will award $50 million to six states to support manufacturing conversions for the electric vehicle supply chain, according to an Aug. 15 press release.
- The funding — made possible by the $2 billion Domestic Automotive Manufacturing Conversion Grants program — follows last month’s announcement from the DOE of $1.7 billion for EV conversions at closed or at-risk auto factories.
- “By helping states and manufacturers navigate the emerging EV manufacturing industry, today’s announcements will help ensure the workforces that defined America’s auto sector for the last 100 years will have the opportunity to shape the next 100 years,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm in the release.
Dive Insight:
The Biden-Harris Administration said the capital will create and preserve hundreds of union jobs at small- to mid-sized suppliers.
Michigan leads way in new Department of Energy funding
To be eligible for the grants, states had to show that 0.5% of their workforce is a part of the automotive sector and qualify for at least $4 million of funding.
Additionally, the DOE announced $1.5 million under the newly expanded Industrial Training and Assessment Center program. The funding will support three teams of technical assistance providers that will help create and refine a playbook for small suppliers’ EV transitions, the release said. The teams will work with Argonne National Laboratory to help internal combustion engine suppliers navigate the transition of their business models to the EV sector or adjacent markets.
The ITAC program provides assessments to small- and medium-sized manufacturing firms to identify efficiency upgrades, cost savings for manufacturers and improvements for the nation’s manufacturing base, according to the release.
