Pentagon Offers $250 Million Loan for U.S. Battery Cathodes
The Office of Strategic Capital offered 6K Inc. a $250 million conditional loan on Nov. 5 to expand U.S. production of NMC battery cathode material.
WASHINGTON — The Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) signed a $250 million conditional loan commitment with 6K Inc. on Nov. 5, 2026, to expand U.S. production of battery cathode material, the department said.
The financing would support 6K’s production of nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cathode active material at its PlusCAM plant in Jackson, Tennessee, the department said. It said the loan would draw in an additional $250 million in private capital.
The supply gap
The United States produces less than 1% of its NMC cathode needs, according to the department. It attributed the gap to “price flooding from foreign countries.” The release did not name those countries.
The department said the material is used in batteries for defense platforms, uncrewed aerial systems, tactical communications and energy infrastructure. It said the deal would help deliver a supply chain compliant with the National Defense Authorization Act for the military and commercial buyers.
The process
6K uses a microwave plasma process it calls UniMelt to make finished single-crystal cathode powder in one step, the department said. The release said the method skips the precursor processing stage, which it described as foreign-dominated.
The department said the process can cut production cycle times by up to tenfold compared with legacy multi-day chemical methods. That figure comes from the government release and has not been independently tested in the sources cited here.
Conditions and officials
The commitment is conditional, the department said. 6K must meet financial, legal, technical and due-diligence requirements before the loan reaches financial close.
“6K’s microwave plasma technology represents a ground-breaking approach to establish a cost-effective domestic supply chain and break our reliance on foreign adversaries,” said David A. Lorch, director of the Office of Strategic Capital. The department said the commitment follows Executive Order 14154, “Unleashing American Energy.”
The OSC made a $75 million commitment to silicon carbide wafer maker Halo Industries the same day. It made a $150 million commitment to space radar firm LeoLabs on Nov. 4, according to separate department releases.
What it means
Analysis: The department’s own case rests on the precursor stage, which it called foreign-dominated. A loan to a process that skips that stage targets the step the department identified as the weak point. The deal still depends on 6K reaching cost parity, which the department named as a goal rather than a result.
Sources
- U.S. Department of War: Office of Strategic Capital Signs $250 Million Conditional Loan Commitment With 6K Inc.
- U.S. Department of War: $75 Million Conditional Loan Commitment With Halo Industries, Inc.
- U.S. Department of War: $150 Million Conditional Loan Commitment With LeoLabs, Inc.
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Featured photo: A calender machine used in lithium-ion battery electrode manufacturing (file photo). Photo: RudolfSimon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
