U.S. Department of Energy in USD1.2 billion clean energy loan to ENTEK Lithium for new EV battery separator manufacturing plant

The separators will be used primarily for batteries in electric vehicles (EVs), thereby strengthening the U.S. lithium-ion battery cells supply chain and enabling the manufacturing of batteries used in advanced technology vehicles. The loan was announced on November 22, 2024 in a press release.

The ENTEK transaction is one of multiple deals in which A&O Shearman’s energy, natural resources & infrastructure (ENRI) team has represented DOE in projects supporting the EV supply chain, including its USD2.26bn loan to Lithium Nevada Corp. for a lithium carbonate processing plant in Humboldt County, Nevada and its USD544m loan to SK Siltron CSS, LLC to develop and construct a new silicon carbide wafer facility in Bay City, Michigan.

The A&O Shearman team that represented the DOE on the ENTEK transaction was led by ENRI partner Paul Epstein, and included ENRI associates Hyunsok Lee, Mohammad Mahmood and Alex Becker. Other A&O Shearman attorneys advising DOE on this matter included ENRI counsel Rebecca Stubbs, ENRI associate Yi Zhou, M&A partner JB Betker and M&A associate Eva Wang, real estate counsel Paul Balaam, real estate associate Madhura Banerjee, environmental & sanctions partner Jason Pratt, environmental & sanctions associate Brendan Holman and environmental & sanctions law clerk Olivia Kreft.