US to Finalize Billions in Funding for Rivian, Plug Before Trump

(Bloomberg) -- The Biden administration is poised to finalize billions of dollars in financing for electric-vehicle maker Rivian Automotive Inc. and hydrogen manufacturer Plug Power Inc. before the Trump administration takes power next week, according to people familiar with the matter. 

The funding, expected to be announced by the Energy Department as soon as Thursday, includes a loan guarantee of nearly $1.7 billion for Latham, New York-based Plug to construct hydrogen plants that are key to the hydrogen producer’s growth plants. 

The department is also expected to announce as soon as Thursday the closing of a federal loan to Rivian for the construction of a Georgia manufacturing plant, the people said. The exact amount of the Rivian loan was not clear, but one of the people said it was in the neighborhood of the $6.6 billion conditional commitment the Biden administration made in November. 

The Energy Department and the companies didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Financing for the two companies comes as the Energy Department’s loan program —  which effectively became a $400 billion-strong green bank during Joe Biden’s presidency — faces new threats from the incoming administration of Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated Monday. 

During his first administration, Trump asked Congress to eliminate the program. This time, some in his inner circle want to get rid of or retool the Loan Programs Office to finance fossil fuels and other energy sources favored by Republicans. 

Already one of the two leaders tapped by Trump to lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, Vivek Ramaswamy, has vowed the incoming administration will scrutinize and rescind billions of dollars in “11th-hour” Energy Department loans and singled out the $6.6 billion loan offer to Rivian. 

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