The Pentagon has offered Massachusetts startup 6K conditional approval for a $250 million loan to build a battery materials factory in Tennessee. The plant would use a microwave-powered process to make cathode material without relying on Chinese suppliers. 6K previously held a $50 million Energy Department grant awarded in 2023 under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, but the Trump administration canceled it, forcing the company to reapply. The factory was originally slated to open in 2024; the grant cancellation and uncertainty in the EV market pushed the company to rework its plans. 6K says its process can handle multiple battery types, including LFP.
According to TechCrunch, the Pentagon has offered 6K, a 12-year-old startup based in North Andover, Massachusetts, conditional approval for a $250 million loan from the Department of Defense to build a battery materials factory in Tennessee.
The company announced the conditional approval on Thursday. The plant is intended to produce battery materials using a microwave-powered process that does not rely on Chinese suppliers, a stated priority for the Defense Department as it seeks more domestic manufacturing capacity for batteries used in military applications.
A grant canceled, then reapplied for
6K had previously received a $50 million grant from the Department of Energy under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. That 2023 grant was canceled by the Trump administration during a chaotic sweep of Biden-era awards, which forced the company to reapply for federal support.
The cancellation disrupted the company’s construction timeline. The factory was originally slated to open in 2024, but the loss of the grant, combined with uncertainties in the electric vehicle market, forced 6K to rework its plans.
The new loan, if finalized, would shift the project’s federal backing from the Energy Department to the Defense Department. The conditional approval means the funding is not yet guaranteed, and the company must still satisfy the terms attached to the offer before the loan is closed.
Microwaves instead of Chinese supply chains
6K’s manufacturing process uses microwaves to heat metals into a plasma and then deposit them onto a surface. According to the company, the approach reduces the number of steps required to make cathode material, a key battery component.
The company says the process can work across a number of different battery types, including lithium iron phosphate (LFP). That flexibility matters for a defense supply chain that may need multiple chemistries rather than a single dominant format.
Domestic cathode production is central to the Pentagon’s interest in reducing dependence on Chinese suppliers, which currently dominate processing of many battery materials. The Tennessee plant would add U.S. capacity for a segment of the battery supply chain that has largely been built overseas.
What the loan covers
- $250 million conditional loan from the Department of Defense
- $50 million Department of Energy grant awarded in 2023 and later canceled
- Factory site in Tennessee, originally planned to open in 2024
- Process: microwave-generated plasma deposition of cathode material, including LFP
The project’s path illustrates how federal incentives for battery manufacturing can change direction between administrations. 6K’s original award came through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and its cancellation left the company to pursue a different federal funder.
For the Pentagon, the loan is a bet on domestic capacity for materials that feed batteries deployed in the field. The source report does not specify the plant’s production volume, the number of jobs it would create, or a revised opening date.
Source: TechCrunch
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
