The Department of Energy closed a $1.25 billion loan guarantee Thursday with EVgo, which plans to use the funds to build more than a thousand electric vehicle charging stations over the next five years.
It is the latest in a wave of multibillion-dollar EV-related loans that are being hustled out the door in the waning days of the Biden presidency, before President-elect Donald Trump takes charge with the stated desire to scale back federal EV investments.
The EVgo loan is finalized, meaning the funds have been committed. That may make it harder for the Trump administration to unwind than recent headline-grabbing conditional loans, which won’t be finalized until companies meet stringent targets. That includes DOE’s $7.5 billion loan guarantee to Stellantis, the European parent of brands like Jeep and Dodge, to build two EV battery plants in Indiana, as well as its $6.6 billion commitment to Rivian Automotive to launch an EV manufacturing factory outside of Atlanta.
On Thursday, the head of DOE’s Loan Programs Office pushed back against criticism from Trump’s allies that the recent wave of loans are dubious.
