General Motors pays off DOE loan for EV battery project
The Department of Energy announced Tuesday the early repayment of a loan it had made to a major electric vehicle battery project.
Ultium Cells, a joint venture between General Motors and South Korea's LG Energy Solution, has paid off the loan it received to manufacture lithium-ion batteries in Ohio and Tennessee. The move means those projects are no longer subject to the onerous requirements and check-ins that come with federal loans.
GM telegraphed the early repayment earlier this month, telling investors on a phone call that it would loan Ultium $1.8 billion to pay off the federal loan. That essentially shifted the debt to GM's balance sheet.
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The joint venture's 'simplified capital structure will allow it to grow and evolve with even greater flexibility,' Paul Jacobson, GM's chief financial officer, said on the call.
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