The Energy Department is moving forward on a deal to provide a $2.3 billion loan to Lithium Americas Corp. in an effort to shore up domestic supplies of a mineral vital for the production of electric vehicles.
If finalized, the loan would help finance the construction of a lithium carbonate processing plant at Thacker Pass in Nevada.
The United States, however, has lagged behind other countries in producing the metal.
Only 1 percent of the lithium used in the United States is harvested domestically, according to the Energy Department.
Lithium carbonate from Thacker Pass could support the production of batteries for up to 800,000 electric vehicles a year, according to the Energy Department.
Organizations:
Energy Department, Lithium Americas Corp, Administration
Locations:
Thacker, Nevada, North America, United States, Australia, Chile, China, Argentina