LPO announces conditional commitment to Rivian to support the construction of electricity generation facilities in Georgia

As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agendathe Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) today announced a conditional commitment to Rivian New Horizon, LLC for a direct loan of up to $6.57 billion (including $5.975 billion in principal and $592 million in capitalized interest) to finance of development and construction of Project Horizon, an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing facility located in Stanton Springs North, near the City of Social Circle, Georgia. The project is owned by a subsidiary of Rivian Automotive, Inc. and is supported by an equity investment from the company. Today’s announcement reinforces the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to strengthening the nation’s manufacturing competitiveness, helping to ensure that American companies remain global leaders in the rapidly growing EV industry.

In support of President Biden and Vice President Harris’ efforts to provide high-quality, good-paying job opportunities to communities across the country, this project expects to support up to 2,000 full-time jobs through construction and 7,500 operations jobs by 2030. If completed, the loan will support construction of a nine million square meter facility to manufacture up to 400,000 electric sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and crossover vehicles. Workers at the Rivian facility will help build America’s clean transportation future by boosting the regional economy and adding to the nearly 16 million jobs created since President Biden and Vice President Harris took office.

At its Georgia facility, Rivian will produce its all-electric Medium Platform (MSP) with its R2 and R3 models as the first variants in production. Rivian currently produces its three-row electric SUV, the R1S, and its electric pickup truck, the R1T, as well as commercial vans at its facility in Normal, Illinois.

The announcement reflects a significant increase in domestic EV production and supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal that half of all new vehicles sold by 2030 be zero-emissions. As one of the few US EV startups with light commercial vehicles already on the way, Rivian’s Georgia facility will allow the company to reach production volumes that make its products more competitive and accelerate access to international markets. At full capacity, the electric vehicles manufactured at the facility are expected to provide an annual fuel consumption savings of approximately 146 million gallons of oil.

If finalized, the loan will be offered under the LPO’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program, which provides loans to support U.S. manufacturing of advanced technology vehicles, qualifying components and materials that improve fuel economy. The loan will mark the first ATVM loan under the Biden-Harris Administration to produce advanced technology vehicles (ATVs), as opposed to ATV components.

LPO borrowers are required to develop and ultimately implement a comprehensive Community Benefits Plan (CBP). CBPs ensure that borrowers engage meaningfully with local communities and labor groups to create good-paying jobs and improve the well-being of residents and workers. As outlined in its CBP, Rivian intends to hire at least a quarter of its employees at the Stanton Springs facility from these communities. Today’s announcement also supports the Justice40 initiative, which calls for 40% of the total benefits of certain federal investments in climate, clean energy and other areas to flow to disadvantaged communities marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.

Rivian also works with the local technical school system to create training programs to attract, train and retain the required workforce. This includes working with the State of Georgia QuickStart technical training incentive program, which provides tailored workforce training to companies making job-creating investments in the state. Rivian currently has approximately twenty apprentices locally in Georgia who have completed their initial training round and are currently receiving on-the-job training at Rivian’s Illinois plant. Upon completion of the program, apprentices will return to Georgia to work in the facility once it is operational. Rivian is exploring expanding participation in this program to other career paths.

While this contingent commitment indicates DOE’s intent to fund the project, DOE and the Company must meet certain technical, legal, environmental, and financial conditions before the Department enters into final financing documents and funds the loan.