The Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital announced $325 million in conditional loan commitments to expand production of battery materials and semiconductors in the United States.
A $250 million conditional commitment to 6K Inc. would support nickel-manganese-cobalt cathode material manufacturing in Jackson, Tennessee. A separate $75 million commitment to Halo Industries would expand silicon carbide semiconductor wafer manufacturing in Santa Clara, California. The government said the loans could help attract an additional $325 million in private investment.
A $250 million conditional financing commitment to 6K Inc. would support expanded production of nickel-manganese-cobalt cathode active material at the company’s PlusCAM facility in Jackson, Tennessee. Those materials are used in high-performance batteries for drones, military communications and energy systems.
The second proposed loan, totaling $75 million, would support Halo Industries’ manufacturing of silicon carbide semiconductor wafers in Santa Clara, California. The material is used in high-voltage electronics, including radar, electronic warfare and directed-energy systems.
The Office of Strategic Capital said each federal commitment is intended to attract an equal amount of private capital. If both financing packages close as planned, the combined capital available for the projects would reach $650 million.
6K uses its proprietary UniMelt microwave-plasma process to produce cathode powders in a single step. The company says the method avoids a conventional precursor-processing stage and can shorten production cycles by as much as tenfold.
The department estimated that U.S. producers currently supply less than 1% of the country’s NMC cathode requirements. Officials said the financing could help create a reliable domestic supplier for both defense equipment and commercial applications.
Halo uses lasers to slice silicon carbide ingots into wafers rather than traditional diamond-saw cutting. Defense officials said the process can increase throughput and reduce material waste, improving domestic competitiveness against subsidized foreign producers.
David A. Lorch, director of the Office of Strategic Capital, described the projects as steps toward stronger domestic supply chains. Other defense officials emphasized the vulnerability created when critical materials and electronic components must be imported.
Neither commitment constitutes a completed loan. Both companies must satisfy financial, legal, technical, diligence and other closing requirements before funds are disbursed. The financing proposals are part of the administration’s broader effort to increase U.S. production of strategic materials.
Officials said the projects would reduce reliance on foreign supply chains for technologies important to military equipment, radar, advanced power electronics and unmanned aircraft. Both commitments remain subject to financial, technical, legal and other closing requirements and have not yet been fully disbursed.