The electric automaker Rivian may have found a lifeline for its stalled plans for a new manufacturing plant in Georgia, winning a $6.6 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy in the final weeks of the Biden administration.
The loan, announced Monday, is a “conditional commitment” and is not finalized. It’s unclear how the incoming Trump administration, which has been critical of financial assistance for EVs, will approach it. Rivian’s announcement about the loan repeatedly stressed the importance of expanding domestic production capacity and creating more American jobs – messages that could resonate with the new administration.
WGLT asked the Trump-Vance transition team about the loan and how they'd assess whether it should or will move forward.
"The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin, giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail, including stopping attacks on gas-powered cars. When he takes office, President Trump will support the auto industry, allowing space for both gas-powered cars AND electric vehicles," Karoline Leavitt, Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman, said in an email.
If finalized, the money would be offered under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing [ATVM] loan program. The loan would mark the first ATVM loan under the Biden administration to produce vehicles, as opposed to components.
“This loan will help create thousands of new American jobs and further strengthen U.S. leadership in EV manufacturing and technology,” Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said in a statement. “This loan would enable Rivian to more aggressively scale our U.S. manufacturing footprint for our competitively priced R2 and R3 vehicles that emphasize both capability and affordability. A robust ecosystem of U.S. companies developing and manufacturing EVs is critical for the U.S. to maintain its long-term leadership in transportation.”
The Georgia project is expected to create 2,000 construction jobs, then around 7,500 jobs at the plant itself through 2030. It would be built in two phases, with the first vehicle starting production in 2028. When both phases are complete, the Georgia plant would be able to make 400,000 vehicles per year.
That’s more than Rivian’s current plant in Normal, which employs 8,000 people and is the community’s second-largest employer. Rivian currently makes its R1 models in Normal, plus delivery vans.
Rivian initially announced plans for the Georgia plant in 2021, lured in part by a $1.5 billion state and local incentives package. But Rivian announced a change in those plans in March, saying that R2 production would instead begin in Normal – not Georgia. Georgia plans were paused. That was aimed at saving billions of dollars and speeding up deliveries of the lower-cost R2 vehicles. Rivian says its “R2 and R3 vehicle lines will be critical drivers in the company’s long-term growth and profitability.”
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat, said he’s been “working behind the scenes to help Rivian secure a federal loan for its Georgia plant in order to restart this project and protect these potential Georgia jobs.”
“Our federal manufacturing incentives are driving economic development across the State of Georgia. I join all federal, state, and local leaders in congratulating Rivian on this conditional federal loan agreement and in celebrating yet another historic federal investment in Georgia electric vehicle manufacturing,” Ossoff said in a statement. “I thank President Biden, Vice President Harris, Secretary Granholm, and Loan Programs Office Director Shah for their continued collaboration as we lead Georgia forward.”
It’s unclear how long it will take to close the loan. One of the requirements to get the money is providing a “provide a reasonable prospect of repayment.”
“While this conditional commitment indicates [the Department of Energy’s] intent to finance the project, DOE and the company must satisfy certain technical, legal, environmental, and financial conditions before the Department of Energy enters into definitive financing documents and funds the loan. If finalized, the loan would be secured by all assets of the project and fixed assets and guarantees of the parent company, Rivian Automotive Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries,” Rivian said in its statement.
