Eos moves forward with DOE loan application to support BESS zinc manufacturing target of 3 GWh

Eos Energy Enterprises has completed due diligence in its application for a share of US$2.5 billion in US government loans.

The company manufactures zinc-based battery energy storage systems that offer three hours of storage time per unit, but can be stacked to make longer times of up to around 12 to 15 hours. Based on an aqueous zinc hybrid cathode that plates and replates zinc as it charges and discharges, Pennsylvania-headquartered Eos claims its products are durable and long-lasting and made from abundant materials.

Eos is on track to reach a targeted annual generation capacity of 800 MWh by the end of this year, but wants to be supported by a more ambitious target of 3 GWh.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Energy’s Lending Programs Office (LPO) returned to active status shortly after President Joe Biden took office in early 2021, with industry veteran solar and clean energy investor Jigar Shah at the helm.

Eos applied for a loan through the Office’s Renewable and Energy Efficient Solicitation, through which it could access loan capital, a customized financing agreement, enter into a committed partnership with the LPO or benefit from direct technical experience provided by the office.

The LPO has invited the company to the next stage of the process, the final part of the second stage of the application, Eos said yesterday. This means that it has been subject to verification of the project’s risk allocation, creditworthiness, legal, environmental and regulatory factors, etc.

Eos’ 3 GWh production plan will now be subject to LPO’s due diligence process. Discussing the loan earlier this year, Eos CEO Joe Mastrangelo said the company sources 80% of its raw materials domestically – less than a five-hour drive from its factory – and aims to reach 90% by the end of this year.

This could help the company in its loan application, as increasing the national supply chain for energy storage is a stated goal of the US government. Another is to reduce the cost of providing long-term energy storage (LDES) to support the growing adoption of renewables.

In June, the LPO made its first loan commitment in its current incarnation, confirming a US$504 million loan to the 300 GWh Advanced Clean Energy Storage (ACES) green hydrogen storage facility in Utah.

Eos received an $200 million investment commitment in April from an anonymous investor affiliated with the firm’s financial partner Yorkville Advisors, then secured an $85 million loan facility with Atlas Credit Partners in August.

The battery storage company went public via a SPAC merger in November 2020 and claimed an order book worth US$457 million at the end of Q2 2022 from 1.9 GWh of customer orders , including US$258 million in orders booked in the second quarter alone.