Rivian (RIVN) announced late Thursday evening that it has received a “conditional commitment” from the Department of Energy (DOE) for a $6.6 billion loan, underscoring Rivian’s improving capital situation.
The loan, part of DOE’s Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program, would support construction of Rivian’s upcoming assembly plant outside Atlanta. Rivian halted development of the site in March due to concerns about its capital position. At the time, Rivian said building the upcoming R2 vehicles at its existing factory in Normal, Illinois, would save the company more than $2 billion in costs.
If the new DOE loan is completed, Rivan’s plans to develop the Georgia assembly plant would restart.
Rivian shares opened lower but retreated higher in afternoon trading.
“This loan would enable Rivian to more aggressively scale our U.S. manufacturing footprint for our competitively priced R2 and R3 vehicles, which emphasize both capability and affordability,” CEO RJ Scaringe said in a statement. “A robust ecosystem of U.S. companies developing and manufacturing electric vehicles is critical for the U.S. to maintain its long-term leadership in transportation.”
Rivian said it must meet certain technical, legal, environmental and financial conditions before the DOE enters into the loan agreement. Once completed, Rivian said it would build the factory in two phases, each resulting in an annual production capacity of 200,000 units, for a total of 400,000 units of annual capacity, which Rivian said will increase “sales of U.S. electric vehicles in international markets.” would support. Phase 1 of the project is expected to start production in 2028.
In the meantime, Rivian will continue to build its volume of R2 and R3 vehicles at the Normal factory, with production planned for the first half of 2026.
Rivian notes that other U.S. automakers have benefited from similar government-backed loan programs, including Tesla (TSLA), GM (GM) and Ford (F), including battery supply chain companies such as Redwood Materials and Lithium Americas.
Rivian receiving conditional approval of the $6.6 billion DOE loan follows another major financial victory for the company. In mid-November, the company announced an expansion of its partnership with Volkswagen (VWAGY), with the German automaker investing more money into a joint venture. Volkswagen will increase its total investment in the deal from $5.8 billion to $5.8 billion.
The joint venture will operate in North America and eventually expand to Europe. It will also support the development of electric vehicles in the subcompact segment, the companies said.
