Rivian Automotive secures $6.6B federal loan to build EV factory near Atlanta, creating 7,500 jobs by 2030. Construction to start in 2028, with plans to produce 400,000 vehicles by 2032. Funding aims to boost U.S. EV manufacturing leadership.
Shutterstock photo/Castleski
Rivian Automotive, an Irvine, Calif.-based manufacturer, has received a loan for up to $6.6 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program to support the construction of Rivian's next facility in Stanton Springs North, near Atlanta.
The funding also will help accelerate the company's growth in the design, development and manufacturing of its electric vehicles, which include the R2 model, a midsize SUV and the R3/R3X, a midsize crossover.
The new facility will be built in two phases, each featuring 200,000 units of annual production capacity, according to Rivian. Phase One is expected to be completed in 2028, with the company creating 7,500 operations jobs through 2030.
"This loan will help create thousands of new American jobs and further strengthen U.S. leadership in EV manufacturing and technology," RJ Scaringe, Rivian's founder and CEO, noted in a statement. "[It] would enable Rivian to more aggressively scale our U.S. manufacturing footprint for our competitively priced R2 and R3 vehicles that emphasize both capability and affordability. A robust ecosystem of U.S. companies developing and manufacturing EVs is critical for the U.S. to maintain its long-term leadership in transportation."
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that DOE's loan commitment will provide Rivian with the financial backing to build its plant in southern Morgan and Walton counties, roughly an hour east of Atlanta along Interstate 20.
With the loan, which requires Rivian to meet certain conditions, the company said it plans to begin EV production in 2028 but has not shared a timeline for resuming construction at the site.
In addition to the pending federal loan, Rivian is set to benefit from a roughly $1.5 billion incentive package offered by state and local leaders. The bulk of those incentives are only realized once the automaker builds its factory and delivers on its job promises.
Rivian said its Georgia factory will encompass 9 million sq. ft. and have the capability of producing up to 400,000 vehicles by 2032.
Clayco, the nationwide construction company headquartered in Chicago (and maintains an Atlanta office) has been chosen to build Rivian's future multi-billion electric vehicle factory in Georgia.
Rivian Looking to Get Georgia Construction Back On Track
Rivian's Georgia plant has been billed as the second-largest economic development project in state history behind Hyundai Motor Group's $7.6 billion EV plant near Savannah.
The Atlanta news source noted that Rivian, which announced the project in late 2021, originally planned to open the factory this year, but the timeline slipped as the upstart automaker slogged through supply chain issues and other challenges.
The manufacturer indefinitely paused the factory's construction in March as a temporary cost-cutting measure and shifted initial production of its new crossover model, the R2, to its existing plant in Illinois.
Despite the temporary shutdown, Rivian has said it is committed to building its next production plant in Georgia, where it has said it will expand production of the R2 and produce at least two other future models, the R3 and R3X.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., applauded the loan agreement, saying in a statement that it will help bolster Georgia's burgeoning EV manufacturing sector.
"Our federal manufacturing incentives are driving economic development across the state of Georgia," he added.
Gov. Brian Kemp (R) convinced Rivian to choose Georgia for its second factory in 2021.
Federal Loan Program Boosts Domestic Manufacturing
The newly-approved federal construction loan consists of $5.98 billion in principal that Rivian can use to finance factory construction while it also is responsible for $592 million of capitalized interest, meaning the company is liable for nearly $6.6 billion.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) and the joint Development Authority of Jasper, Morgan, Newton, and Walton counties confirmed that the state-owned land where the factory is planned cannot be used by Rivian as collateral.
Additionally, Rivian is required to provide a letter of credit as collateral for any recoupment payments if the company fails to meet its required job and investment targets.
The DOE noted in a news release that Rivian must develop and implement a "Community Benefits Plan" to engage with the surrounding community and local labor groups as it assembles its workforce.
Rivian's loan would come from the Department of Energy's ATVM loan program, established in 2007 to support domestic energy projects. EV factories by Ford, Nissan, and Tesla previously received financing through this initiative, according to the Atlanta newspaper.
As part of the loan evaluation process, the DOE conducted an environmental review of the roughly 1,800-acre Rivian site after residents living near the graded site became concerned over muddy runoff escaping onto their properties and fears about their water supplies.
But the assessment reached a preliminary conclusion that the factory would not have a significant environmental impact. The DOE incorporated an evaluation the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed almost two years ago for a key wetlands permit, but also reviewed potential health and quality of life impacts associated with the project, such as noise, traffic and air pollution.
In summary, the draft found "providing a federal loan to Rivian to build an EV manufacturing facility will not have a significant effect on the human environment."
Loan to Push Project Across Finish Line
While the R2 crossover is expected to first be built at Rivian's Illinois factory, the Georgia plant is vital to the automaker's long-term future, company leaders told the Journal-Constitution.
In a July letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Ossoff wrote that the DOE loan is needed to get the Rivian project across the finish line.
"The state of Georgia has already invested in the success of Rivian and without this federal funding those taxpayer dollars could go to waste," Ossoff wrote.
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