Pentagon Offers Battery Startup 6K a $250M Loan to Build a U.S. Factory
The U.S. Department of Defense has given conditional approval for a $250 million loan to battery materials maker 6K for a factory in Tennessee. The company uses a microwave-powered process and aims to avoid reliance on Chinese suppliers.
The U.S. Department of Defense has conditionally approved a $250 million loan for 6K, a battery materials startup, the company announced on Thursday. The money is meant to fund a factory in Tennessee that will make battery materials without depending on Chinese suppliers. The deal reflects the Pentagon's growing interest in domestic manufacturing capacity, as batteries are used even on the battlefield.
6K is a 12-year-old startup based in North Andover, Massachusetts.
Earlier funding
The company had previously received a $50 million grant from the Department of Energy under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. That 2023 award was canceled when the Trump administration swept away a range of Biden-era grants, and 6K had to reapply.
The factory was originally scheduled to open in 2024. The grant cancellation and uncertainty in the electric vehicle market forced the company to revise its plans.
The technology
6K's process uses microwaves to heat metals into a plasma and then deposit them onto a surface. This cuts the number of steps needed to produce cathode material, a key component of a battery.
The company says the process can be applied to several battery types, including lithium iron phosphate (LFP).
