The Department of Energy will provide $100 million in funding to help small and medium-sized suppliers produce parts for electric vehicles
- Vice President Kamala Harris is in Detroit today, announcing $100 million in funding to help suppliers prepare to produce parts for electric vehicles.
- The White House says the money will preserve good-paying, union manufacturing jobs in the country.
- Funding is provided by the Department of Energy under the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
As part of the Vice President’s Economic Opportunity Tour, Kamala Harris announced that the White House will provide $100 million in funding to help small and medium-sized auto parts manufacturers prepare to produce components for electric vehicles.
Half of the funding will come from the Department of Energy’s Automotive Conversion Grants Program to help suppliers transition from making parts for internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles. The other half of the funding comes from the department’s Implementation Grants Program to help suppliers “stimulate manufacturing diversification and conversion projects.”
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The money will “support transitions to preserve good, well-paying, union jobs in the same communities where automakers and suppliers are transitioning to electric vehicle manufacturing here in America,” the White House wrote.
Vice President Harris is announcing the program today in Detroit alongside Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su. Michigan is a key swing state, so this is an important time to convince auto workers that the White House is serving them ahead of this year’s election.
As part of the investment, the Small Business Administration will provide millions of dollars in private capital to help suppliers grow and diversify their businesses with the help of the DOE. In addition, the SBA provides lines of credit for small businesses and offers business advice to suppliers.
These programs are funded by the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The investments follow the announcement in March that the Energy Department had established a training program for battery factory jobs. The measures are being celebrated by experts like Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Executive Deputy Jonathan Smith.
“We’ve always been in a situation where we’re just struggling to respond,” Smith told The Detroit News, referring to past challenges in the auto industry. “This really feels like one of the first opportunities we’ve had in a long time to really get ahead of a problem.”
