Entek receives direct loan for EV battery separator plant

Artist’s rendering of the new plant in Terre Haute, Ind. Image Credit: Entek

Entek Lithium Separators LLC has received a direct loan of up to US$1.2 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office.

Entek in July announced receiving a “conditional commitment” for the loan.

The loan will finance a new plant in Terre Haute, Ind., for manufacturing PE-based lithium-ion battery separators to be used primarily in electric vehicles (EVs). The project will help onshore the lithium-ion battery cell supply chain, the company said in a Nov. 22 news release.

Entek says it’s the only U.S.-owned and U.S.-based producer of “wet-process” lithium-ion battery separator materials.

Entek has been supplying battery separator components for 40 years.

A battery separator is a microporous membrane sandwiched between the anode and cathode of a battery. The principal functions of the battery separator are to prevent electronic conduction (i.e., shorts or direct contact) between the anode and cathode while permitting ionic conduction via the electrolyte. Separators play an essential role in the performance and safety of lithium-ion batteries, Entek officials said, and Entek manufactures both ceramic coated and uncoated separators.

Entek will customize battery separators to accommodate numerous EV battery designs. The separators produced will be able to accommodate all existing lithium-ion EV battery chemistries, including NMC, NCA, LMFP, and LFP.  Additionally, Entek will be able to sell its separators to manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries for energy storage applications.

“[We] aim to become the U.S.’s first end-to-end, domestic supplier of ‘wet process’ battery separators for the North American lithium-ion EV battery market,” the release said. “The project will make a significant contribution to domestic separator capacity and help U.S. EV battery manufacturers satisfy the Inflation Reduction Act’s domestic content rules under the 30D Clean Vehicle Credit.”

Entek expects the project will create approximately 763 construction jobs and 635 operational jobs.