The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has confirmed it will cancel $720 million in manufacturing grants intended for several clean energy projects. The department’s obligation is $1.6 billion, but it is now reassessing its financial obligations. They need to make sure that everything they fund moves us further toward national energy goals.
Anovion is one of the affected projects. It was awarded $117 million for production technology that would allow it to manufacture synthetic graphite for lithium-ion battery anodes. Today’s cancellation raises fears about the future of domestic production for these critical materials. Chinese suppliers now control 75% of the automotive supply chain and produce an astounding 97% of all synthetic graphite anodes.
So the DOE is moving in the right direction. They want the flexibility to move that money somewhere else, to smarter projects that better fit the state’s emerging energy blueprint. Ben Dietderich, a spokesperson for the DOE, stated that the canceled grants “did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs.” Further, he observed that many of the projects were under “missed milestones” status, forcing the department to take a closer look at them.
This cancellation of these grants comes amidst a larger trend of the DOE re-evaluating its fiscal obligations. The department is still looking at billions of dollars in contracts. It seeks to make certain that these investments catalyze breakthroughs in clean energy technologies.
Tim De Chant, a senior climate reporter at TechCrunch and a lecturer in MIT’s Graduate Program in Science Writing, provides insights into these developments. De Chant has a PhD in environmental science, policy, and management from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to that, he received a BA in environmental studies, English, and biology from St. Olaf College. In 2018, he was awarded the Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT. During this fellowship, he turned his attention toward climate technologies and developing new business models for journalism.
The grants slated for cancellation had all been awarded to three startups—the other two besides Anovion being LuxWall. LuxWall has made a name for itself with stunning windows that can literally insulate whole buildings as well as non-window walls. Benefits of their product include being able to drastically reduce both energy consumption and utility bills for consumers.
With the 2024 presidential election now only one year away, the DOE is currently busy prioritizing its plans. We’ll find out soon enough how these cancellations impact the nation’s ability to produce energy here at home. Continuing to advance these technologies to meet and beat our foreign competitors is key to defending our energy independence. This emphasis is a driver of innovation at home, too.