U.S. Energy Secretary Expected to Announce EV Grant in Michigan

By Bloomberg
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Date Published: July 20, 2020

(Bloomberg) —

Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette is traveling to Michigan Thursday to tour a General Motors Co. facility and is expected to announce an electric-car battery grant while in the the battle-ground state, according to two people familiar with the plans.

The grant will aid the industry at large and be announced in conjunction with Brouillette’s visit to GM’s Estes Battery Lab and Design Center, according to the people, who asked not to be identified revealing information in advance of the event.

GM has been developing battery packs at the Estes plant for electric vehicles it will begin selling later this year. The company plans to sell 20 plug-in models globally by 2023.

The Energy Department, in a statement announcing the trip, said Brouillette plans to highlight the agency’s “commitment to advancing American manufacturing and battery storage technology.”

The grant, which the people familiar said will total over $100 million, follows the release of an Energy Department plan to accelerate the development, commercialization, and utilization of energy storage technologies.

Brouillett’s trip comes as other administration officials have spread out to battleground states across the country with cabinet officials making stops in Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Arizona.