According to the Financial Associated Press on December 17 (Editor Zhao Hao), after the close of the US stock market on Monday (December 16), Australian battery materials producer NOVONIX Limited announced on its official website that it had obtained a conditional loan of 0.754 billion USD from the US Department of Energy to build a synthetic graphite manufacturing plant in Tennessee, USA.

Novonix is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, and its Stocks are listed on the Nasdaq in the USA and the Australian Exchange. Following this news, Novonix's US Stocks rose more than 10% in after-hours trading on Monday; the Stocks listed in Australia rose by 3.42% on Tuesday.

According to the press release, the loan project office of the US Department of Energy will provide Novonix with a direct loan of 0.7548 billion USD under the "Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing" (ATVM) loan program (0.692 billion USD principal + 62.8 million USD capitalized interest).

This loan will be used to fund the construction of Novonix's new factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which primarily produces synthetic graphite for electric vehicle Batteries. Media analysis indicates that once completed, it will become the first large-scale synthetic graphite factory in North America.

The new plant is expected to reach full production by the end of 2028, creating 450 full-time operation jobs and 500 construction jobs. At full capacity, it is expected to produce approximately 0.0315 million tons of synthetic graphite annually, supporting the production of about 0.325 million electric vehicle Batteries.

Chris Burns, CEO of Novonix and former senior research engineer at Tesla, stated in a statement, "This is the result of years of effort and another important milestone in achieving our anode materials business's goal of 0.15 million tons/year production capacity in North America."

Burns studied under world-class Battery technology expert Jeff Dahn, who has had a deep collaboration with Tesla since 2015. Dahn currently serves as the Chief Scientific Advisor for Novonix.

"The government has committed to investing in our new factory, continuing to emphasize the focus on localizing key materials for the Battery supply chain. The purchase agreements reached with strong partners reinforce our leadership in localizing the synthetic graphite supply chain in North America and supporting the US Energy independence path."

The press release mentioned that Novonix signed multiple binding purchase agreements within the year to supply synthetic graphite to Panasonic Energy, Stellantis, and PowerCo.

Graphite is a key material for electric vehicle Batteries, which can be naturally mined from deposits, known as "natural graphite," or obtained from petroleum products called "needle coke." For the USA's electric vehicle Industry, a large proportion of graphite is sourced from overseas imports.

Novonix's synthetic graphite, although more expensive, can help Batteries charge faster and have a longer lifespan, making it increasingly favored by automakers. Burns told the media, "If you eliminate the noise, we will continue to see support for the Battery and critical minerals Industry."

On Monday (December 16), there were reports that Trump's transition team proposed comprehensive reforms to eliminate support for electric vehicles and charging stations. However, the transition team suggested imposing tariffs on "all Battery materials" globally to boost domestic production in the USA.

Documents seen by the media also indicated that the transition team called for reclaiming all remaining funds from Biden's $7.5 billion charging station construction plan to redirect them to "Battery mineral processing" and "defense supply chains and critical infrastructure."