Forge Battery, the commercial lithium-ion battery production subsidiary of Forge Nano, Inc., today announced it finalized award negotiations for $100 M in non-dilutive funding by the Department of Energy's Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC). Forge Battery and the Department of Energy finalized the funding contract on January 14th, 2025.
Forge Battery plans to use the $100 M to expand its North Carolina lithium-ion battery gigafactory production capacity to 3 gigawatt hours per year (GWh/year). Combined with $140 M from Forge Battery, the BIL funding will serve to bolster the United States' renewable energy supply chain, creating opportunities for U.S. innovations to be powered by best-in-class lithium-ion cells that are designed and produced on U.S. soil.
"Forge Battery is ready to power tomorrow's most critical battery-powered innovations," said Paul Lichty, CEO of Forge Nano, the parent company of Forge Battery. "The Department of Energy has been crucial to our future success where we expect to showcase the United States' competitiveness in lithium-ion cell performance, safety and manufacturing."
Forge Battery recently began cell production via a new, supplemental manufacturing line in Colorado to accelerate cell production trials, while supporting customers and partners with cell samples. Forge Battery intends to produce 21700 cell products on the new manufacturing line before transitioning production to the Morrisville Gigafactory.
Forge Battery expects to begin construction on the North Carolina Gigafactory expansion in early 2025.