Feds award WA companies $200M for EV battery facilities in Moses Lake

Both companies have plans to build new manufacturing facilities in Moses Lake within the next decade.

Transportation accounts for more than 40% of Washington’s carbon pollution. It represents the largest slice of emissions worldwide, too, but modern battery technology lacks the storage capacity, efficiency and affordability many believe could push the industry toward a cleaner, greener future — a necessary pivot for the state and country to decarbonize within the next three decades.

Washington’s access to cheap hydropower is drawing innovators from the around the world to set up shop here. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said the funding will help situate the city and the state at the forefront of a global push to transform battery technology.

“It means a lot more jobs,” she said. “It certainly means being on the cutting edge of technology.”

The next step, Cantwell said, is delivering on promises to improve battery efficiency, EV range and cost. Beyond that, strengthening the state’s power grid and expanding EV charging infrastructure are key.

“I do think our state is going to play a pretty big role in that,” said Cantwell, the chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

The government awarded $2.8 billion to 20 companies in 12 states — including the two in Washington — to foster the development of battery technologies, hasten the country’s shift toward electrified transportation and mitigate a global climate crisis caused by the consumption of fossil fuels. The $2.8 billion, matched by fund recipients, totals more than $9 billion to support the country’s pursuit of renewable energy.

Based in Woodinville, Group14 said it plans to add more than $200 million of its own money to the government’s $100 million, to build a pair of factories in Moses Lake that would produce silicon-carbon composite anodes. These anodes could help improve the lithium-ion batteries used in EVs.

Sila Nanotechnologies, a California company, will pile $300 million on top of federal funding to expand and complete a Moses Lake factory that, once finished, would become the biggest silicone anode factory in the world, the company said.

Porsche AG is the lead investor in Group14, while Sila has partnered with Mercedes-Benz.

Each company’s forthcoming projects would employ several hundred workers.

President Joe Biden has vowed to ensure by 2030 that EVs account for half of all new car sales, and to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Washington announced last month it would ban the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.

The state is also required by law to eliminate or offset all of its carbon pollution by 2050.

Still, climate goals are hampered by cost and supply issues.

Efforts to incentivize or subsidize EV purchases and build a network of publicly accessible charging stations have met with mixed results in the state Legislature.

In July, almost a fifth of new vehicle registrations in Washington were for electric or hybrid cars, according to the Department of Licensing. Of the 4.7 million passenger vehicles registered in the state in July, about 104,000 are fully electric, which is 2.5 times more than two years ago.