$1 trillion.. US will not reward Microvast battery company
Texas-based Microvast did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has factories in Tennessee, Germany and China.
Shrouq
The US Department of Energy has told lithium battery company Microvast Holdings (MVST.O) that it will not award it a $200 million grant, after lawmakers cited concerns about alleged links to the Chinese government.
$1 trillion
a source familiar with the matter said on Monday, The US Department had been in talks with Microvast over the grant to help build a plant in Tennessee. The grant stemmed from the $1 trillion 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.
Senator John Barrasso, the top Republican on the Senate energy committee, had previously written to Granholm saying that the award was antithetical to the intent of the infrastructure law.
On Monday Barrasso said the administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, should "overhaul its grant making process and conduct due diligence before issuing press releases" on grants.
Relations with the China
Two Republican lawmakers criticized the decision to grant the funding in a letter last December to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, saying Microvast had ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that raised "serious concerns about the department’s ability to protect U.S. taxpayer dollars."
Republican Representative Frank Lucas said canceling the grant was "a win for American taxpayers and companies" as the money is intended to boost battery production and supply chains in America, not to tighten China's stranglehold on these supplies.
The lawmakers did not provide details about the company's alleged ties to the Chinese government.
Microvast responds
Texas-based Microvast did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has factories in Tennessee, Germany and China.
The source refused to say whether the decision to cancel the negotiations was related to concerns about relations with China.
The source said contracts decisions are taken on the basis of factors including the company's past performance and financial and accounting management systems.
"There is a rigorous review process before any award funds are released, and it is not uncommon for entities selected to participate in award negotiations to ultimately receive an award," a DOE spokesman said.
China comment
"What the U.S. government decides about U.S. companies is a matter for the U.S. itself, and I will not comment on it," said Mao Ning, spokeswoman at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, when asked about the case at a regular news conference on Tuesday.
The grant had been set to support work by General Motors (GM.N) and Microvast on developing specialized EV battery separator technology and building a new separator plant. The projects had been expected to create hundreds of jobs.
GM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
