- The Department of Energy has finalized a $6.6 billion loan to Rivian.
- The funds will enable the company to build a new plant in Georgia.
- Production is slated to begin in 2028 and the facility will build the R2 and R3.
Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president earlier today, but the Biden administration rammed through a number of last minute decisions before that took place. One of them was the finalization of a loan to Rivian worth up to $6.6 billion.
The Department of Energy said the money will be used to finance the development and construction of a new manufacturing plant near Social Circle, Georgia. The facility will span approximately nine million square feet and have the capability to build up to 400,000 crossovers and SUVs annually.
More: Rivian’s Georgia Plant Gets A $6.6 Billion Lifeline Thanks To Taxpayers
The plant will build models based on Rivian’s new midsize platform. This includes the R2 and R3, which were introduced early last year. Once production at the plant is fully ramped up, vehicles built there could save approximately 146 million gallons (553 million liters) of petroleum annually.
The government added the plant should generate up to 2,000 construction jobs as well as 7,500 operations jobs through 2030. They went on to note, “Rivian intends to hire at least a quarter of its employees at the Stanton Springs facility from the local community. This investment supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which sets a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investment in climate, clean energy, and other areas flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.”
For their part, Rivian said construction is slated to begin next year and production should begin in 2028. Hiring is already underway and the project will be broken up into two phases with each having the capability to build 200,000 vehicles annually.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said, “This loan will help us accelerate the launch of our Georgia plant for R2 and R3, providing thousands of jobs in the state.” He added, “People are incredibly excited to get behind the wheel of our new models, and this additional capacity for our mass market products is key to U.S. leadership in the electric vehicle industry.”
