WOODINVILLE and MOSES LAKE, Wash., Sept. 19, 2023 — Group14 Technologies announced it has successfully negotiated its contract for the Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing award with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC). As the company continues to scale, the $100 million award is instrumental in accelerating Group14’s domestic manufacturing capacity to deliver advanced silicon battery materials to secure the U.S. battery supply chain.
As part of the Biden Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the DOE announced its first phase of more than $7 billion of total investments in October 2022 to accelerate the production of advanced battery technologies integral for the buildout of a secure, domestic clean energy ecosystem. Today, Group14 is among the first awardees of the initial 21 recipients to conclude its contract for the grant.
Since the original award announcement, Group14 has broken ground on its second commercial Battery Active Materials factory (BAM-2) in Moses Lake, WA, which is expected to be the site of the world’s largest factory for advanced silicon battery technology. In the last three months, Group14 completed the foundation for the factory’s first module and has commenced laying the foundation for its second module. The company began erecting the structure of its first module in September and will be using more than $30 million of U.S. steel over the life of the project to complete the construction of the two modules.
As Group14 makes progress on the construction of its second commercial U.S. BAM factory, it is growing its team across all departments. In the past year, Group14 has grown its staff by 125%, now totaling more than 225 employees company-wide. In Washington State, Group14 has been dedicated to charting new paths for job creation and workforce development, particularly in Moses Lake. To support the BAM-2 factory, Group14 expects to hire an additional 400 employees in Moses Lake across manufacturing, engineering, and other operational functions.
“To strengthen the U.S. battery ecosystem, we are committed to bringing clean energy manufacturing jobs to Washington State while ensuring a just energy transition,” said Rick Luebbe, CEO and co-founder of Group14 Technologies. “It is imperative to our continued growth as a company and to our role in the community that we deliver robust training and jobs programs for the clean energy economy, while engaging with local stakeholders, to ensure an equitable and inclusive future for all.”
