Factbox: U.S. Climate Package Jump-Starts EV, Clean Energy Projects

An aerial view shows solar panels made by First Solar, during a tour of the Overland Park Solar Array in Toledo, Ohio, U.S., October 5, 2021. REUTERS/Dane Rhys/File Photo

U.S. President Joe Biden's signing of the Infrastructure Reduction Act (IRA) on Aug. 16 unlocked hundreds of billions of dollars in climate-related investments.

As a result, dozens of energy, automobile and clean technology companies have announced plans to move forward with new projects or accelerate the timeline on previous deals.

Here are some of examples:

EV/BATTERIES

• Honda and LG Energy Solution – $4.4 billion for a new battery plant with annual production capacity of 40 GWh.

• Hyundai – Construction of $5.54 billion EV and battery plant in Savannah, Georgia, could start this year instead of January 2023.

• Panasonic – Second new battery plant: Panasonic, an EV battery supplier to Tesla, is considering Oklahoma for its second new $4 billion battery plant. The first plant will be in Kansas.

• Tesla - Lithium refinery: EV giant Tesla is seeking approval in Texas to set up a lithium refinery. Construction could begin in the fourth quarter of 2022 and would reach commercial production by the end of 2024.

• Volkswagen – Volkswagen signed an agreement with Canada to advance a sustainable battery supply chain and supply lithium, nickel and cobalt.

• Sparkz – More jobs: The battery startup in late August announced Taylor County, West Virginia, as the site of a future plant that will commercialize a zero-cobalt battery.

• Piedmont Lithium Inc - Lithium processing plant: The company said on Sept. 1 it will build a $600 million lithium processing plant in Etowah, Tennessee, that will begin production in 2025 with a target of 30,000 metric ton per year.

RENEWABLES

* Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie project the U.S. solar market growing 40% more than prior forecasts through 2027 on the heels of the legislation.

• First Solar - Expanded manufacturing: Top U.S. solar panel maker First Solar Inc said on Aug. 30 it spend $1 billion to build a new facility in the Southeast and invest $185 million in its existing Ohio factories.

• SPI Energy – Letter of Intent for U.S. solar wafer manufacturing: SPI Energy announced on Aug. 23 that it signed a letter of intent to secure 1.5 GW of solar wafer manufacturing equipment, as part of plans for 3 GW of U.S. manufacturing capacity by 2024.

• REC Silicon and Mississippi Silicon – Solar supply chain expansion agreement: REC Silicon and Mississippi Silicon, which produce raw materials used in solar panels, announced on Aug. 22 they will expand their relationship to support development of an end-to-end U.S. solar supply chain.

BATTERY STORAGE

• Kontrolmatik Technologies – Expansion of grid-scale battery factory: Virginia-based energy storage company Kontrolmatik announced on Aug. 16 that its first U.S.-based lithium-ion battery factory, previously expected to have a 2 GWh capacity, will now have a 3 GWh capacity.

• Zinc8 – New battery manufacturing facility: Zinc8 announced Aug. 12 it signed a letter of intent to make Ulster County, New York, the home of its first major manufacturing hub, citing incentives included in the IRA.

HEAT PUMPS

• Carrier – Center of Excellence for heat pump production: On Aug. 24, air conditioning company Carrier designated a facility in Tennessee as site for high-efficiency heat pump production.

DIRECT AIR CAPTURE

• CarbonCapture — Accelerated project: Los Angeles-based CarbonCapture announced on Sept. 8 it is speeding up its plans to build a 5 million ton-per-year direct air capture project in Wyoming by several months thanks to the IRA.