The DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) has announced $50 million in grants for six states with significant automotive workforces to help small- and medium-sized suppliers adapt their manufacturing facilities to serve the EV supply chain.

The announcement on state allocations follows an April 2024 Request for Information, seeking input on state/federal partnerships that could enable federal funding to reach automotive suppliers embarking on the transition to serve electrified vehicle supply chains. Eligible states must have a workforce at least 0.5% of which is in the automotive sector. Under these criteria, six states are eligible: Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Illinois.

States have until October 15, 2024 to submit an application.

DOE has also announced $1.5 million in selections across three teams of technical assistance providers under the Industrial Training and Assessment Center (ITAC) program. The teams from Purdue University, the University of Michigan and the University of Illinois will help create a Small Supplier EV Transition Playbook, to help ICE suppliers navigate the transition to EVs.

“Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’s leadership, America’s auto communities and the workforces they support finally have the tools they need to compete and thrive in the 21st-century clean energy economy,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “By helping states and manufacturers navigate the emerging EV manufacturing industry, today’s announcements will help ensure that the workforces that defined America’s auto sector for the last 100 years will have the opportunity to shape the next 100 years.”

Source: Department of Energy