American all-electric automaker Rivian Automotive announced on Monday it has received conditional commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program for a loan of up to $6.6 billion (including $6 billion of principal and approximately $600 million of capitalized interest) to accelerate its growth and leadership of electric vehicle design, development and manufacturing in the United States.
If finalized, the loan would support the construction of Rivian’s next facility in Stanton Springs North, near the city of Social Circle, Georgia, substantially expanding the company’s domestic production capacity to support demand from the United States and international markets. This loan from DOE would provide significant funding for production of the company’s midsize platform, which underpins the R2, a midsize SUV, and the R3/R3X, a midsize crossover. Designed, engineered, and built in America to deliver an incredible combination of capability, function, performance, and pricing, Rivian believes its R2 and R3 vehicle lines will be critical drivers in the company’s long-term growth and profitability.
The DOE loan would provide an important boost to the U.S. automotive industrial base, enabling significant job creation and investment that is important for the United States to maintain its leadership as electric vehicles become a strategically important industry.
Rivian intends to build the facility in two phases, each resulting in 200,000 units of annual production capacity, for a total of 400,000 units of annual capacity–supporting the sale of American EVs in international markets. Phase 1 of the project is expected to start production in 2028. Rivian is expected to create approximately 7,500 operations jobs through 2030 at the company’s future manufacturing facility in Georgia. This is in addition to 2,000 expected full-time construction jobs that will utilize the region’s significant talent and workforce to further strengthen the domestic EV ecosystem. These jobs complement the thousands Rivian has already created and plans to maintain at its current plant in Normal, Illinois, which have bolstered the local and regional economy.
“This loan will help create thousands of new American jobs and further strengthen U.S. leadership in EV manufacturing and technology,” said Rivian Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe. “This loan would enable Rivian to more aggressively scale our U.S. manufacturing footprint for our competitively priced R2 and R3 vehicles that emphasize both capability and affordability. A robust ecosystem of U.S. companies developing and manufacturing EVs is critical for the U.S. to maintain its long-term leadership in transportation.”
Rivian plans to design and build a fully modern manufacturing facility at the Stanton Springs Site, less than one hour’s drive from downtown Atlanta, employing modern construction techniques and advanced environmental management while preserving natural spaces and investing actively in the surrounding communities.
Over the history of the loan program, DOE has helped energize American EV manufacturing with billions in financing for this strategically important industry, including loans to General Motors and Tesla.
While this conditional commitment indicates DOE’s intent to finance the project, DOE and the company must satisfy certain technical, legal, environmental, and financial conditions before the Department of Energy enters into definitive financing documents and funds the loan. If finalized, the loan would be secured by all assets of the project and fixed assets and guarantees of the parent company, Rivian Automotive, Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries.
