U.S. Dept. of Energy announces $335M to support Belvidere Assembly Plant’s future electric vehicle work

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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BELVIDERE — The U.S. Department of Energy announced today that nearly $335 million in funding will go toward helping the Belvidere Assembly Plant convert to electric vehicle production.

The funding is part of $1.7 billion in federal money to support the electric conversion of 11 shuttered or at-risk automotive plants across eight states: Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Virginia and Illinois.

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“There is nothing harder to a manufacturing community than to lose jobs to foreign competition and a changing industry,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in a news release announcing the funding. “Even as our competitors invest heavily in electric vehicles, these grants ensure that our automotive industry stays competitive—and does it in the communities and with the workforce that have supported the auto industry for generations.”

The Belvidere Assembly Plant was shuttered at the end of February 2023, but Stellantis agreed to invest approximately $5 billion to reopen the plant and add new electric vehicle battery production facilities as part of its deal to end the United Auto Worker strike. The work is supported by state and federal funding, as well as tax incentives for electric vehicle production.

That plan called for reopening the Belvidere Assembly Plant as a parts distribution center, building a new assembly plant for a mid-sized pickup truck and building a new electric vehicle battery plant.

The federal government’s announcement said the funding is subject to “negotiations to ensure that commitments to workers and communities are met.”

The Department of Energy said the $334,763,050 grant is expected to support the reemployment of about 1,450 union jobs.

“The project intends to revitalize automotive employment in the Belvidere community and to significantly further the adoption and advancement of EV technologies in the U.S. automotive industry,” the Department of Energy said in its release.

Stellantis has not rolled out a timeline for the work. Previously, UAW workers said they could be back to building a midsized truck by 2027 with the new battery plant opening in 2028.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas