NanoGraf awarded $60M from DOE to build silicon anode materials in Flint, MI

NanoGraf announced it has been awarded a $60 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) fund supporting new and expanded commercial-scale domestic battery manufacturing projects.

Additional matching grant dollars may also become available to fund the project from the Make It in Michigan Competitiveness Fund, administered through the Michigan Infrastructure Office.

NanoGraf will use the grant, in addition to its own capital, to retrofit an existing manufacturing facility in Flint, Michigan. At full capacity, the advanced production facility will produce 2,500 tons per year of NanoGraf’s proprietary silicon anode material – enough material to supply 1.5 million electric vehicles per year.

The combined $175 million investment, with additional funds coming from NanoGraf, will create one of the world’s largest silicon anode facilities, significantly advancing U.S. efforts to onshore the battery supply chain and enhancing the performance of domestically made lithium-ion batteries.

The company reports that the Flint factory is NanoGraf’s third battery material production facility and increases the company’s total manufacturing footprint to over 414,000 square feet. NanoGraf currently produces silicon anode material for the U.S. military out of two Chicago-based manufacturing facilities, including a new R&D facility at 455 N Ashland Avenue and its headquarters at 400 N Noble Street. NanoGraf recently announced it was supplying batteries to Thales Defense & Security Inc. for the handsets used by soldiers in the field.

The project will create approximately 200 construction jobs through a project labor agreement with the North American Building Trades Union. Up to 150 new permanent jobs will be created for operations, approximately 80% of which are expected to come directly from the local community. NanoGraf has signed a neutrality agreement with the United Steelworkers and is committed to partnering with them should a majority of employees wish to be represented by the union.

NanoGraf’s headquarters, military-focused production facilities, and R&D operations will remain in Chicago.