Conditional Federal loan through Inflation Reduction Act would allow Rivian to restart stalled construction of Georgia manufacturing plant
Social Circle, Ga. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff today announced a conditional Federal loan agreement to restart stalled construction of Rivian’s electric vehicle plant in Georgia.
Sen. Ossoff announced that Rivian will receive up to $5.98 billion via a conditional Federal loanthrough the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office to restart construction of its Georgia manufacturing plant, which had been paused earlier this year.
The conditional Federal loan, which is funded through the Inflation Reduction Act, would allow Rivian to restart construction of its plant in Georgia, which had been the second largest economic development project in the State’s history.
Rivian and the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) will now work to finalize the loan agreement.
“Our Federal manufacturing incentives are driving economic development across the State of Georgia. I join all Federal, State, and local leaders in congratulating Rivian on this conditional Federal loan agreement and in celebrating yet another historic Federal investment in Georgia electric vehicle manufacturing,” Sen. Ossoff said. “I thank President Biden, Vice President Harris, Secretary Granholm, and Loan Programs Office Director Shah for their continued collaboration as we lead Georgia forward.”
“We are excited to arrive at this important chapter in our growth and look forward to building our next generation of vehicles in this great country, providing 7,500 jobs that Georgians can be proud of,” said Rivian Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe. “We are grateful for our strong partnerships in Georgia and will continue to work closely with them as we bring this landmark facility to life.”
According to DOE and LPO, Rivian would produce its midsize electric vehicle platform with its R2 and R3 models as the first variants in production. The project would support up to 2,000 full-time jobs through construction and up to 7,500 operations jobs by 2030. If finalized, the loan would support construction of a 9 million square foot facility to manufacture up to 400,000 mass-market electric sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and crossover vehicles annually.
According to a recent study, since passage of the Inflation Reduction Act less than 2 years ago, the Federal manufacturing incentives Sen. Ossoff championed are benefiting Georgia more than any other state, creating over 30,000 Georgia jobs and attracting over $23.8 billion in private investment across the state.
Please find additional deep background information (not to be quoted) below from Senator Ossoff’s office:
- Seeking to throw this economic development project a lifeline, Sen. Ossoff and his office have been working behind the scenes to help Rivian secure a Federal loan for its Georgia plant in order to restart this project and protect these potential Georgia jobs.
- For the last several months, Sen. Ossoff and his office worked closely with Rivian and pushed the Biden Administration to approve a Federal loan of roughly $6 billion for Rivian through the Loan Programs Office, which can only be used for construction of its Georgia plant.
- Sen. Ossoff personally called Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm throughout the process to advocate for approval of Rivian’s loan application.
- Sen. Ossoff also wrote to Secretary Granholm on July 24, 2024, pushing for this Federal lifeline for Rivian’s Georgia project.
- “The State of Georgia has already invested in the success of Rivian and without this Federal funding those taxpayer dollars could go to waste. Additionally, this funding would directly support economic development in the City of Social Circle, Walton, Newton, Morgan, and Jasper Counties, and the larger region,” Sen. Ossoff wrote to Secretary Granholm in July. “Rivian has also partnered with state and local agencies on infrastructure projects and workforce development initiatives to strengthen its investment in Georgia. I urge the Department of Energy to give Rivian Automotive’s LPO ATVM Loan program funding application its fullest consideration, consistent with all agency rules and regulations.”
- Earlier this year, Sen. Ossoff successfully helped Qcells secure a loan guarantee of up to $1.45 billion through the Loan Programs Office for its Cartersville solar manufacturing plant.
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