Forge Battery, the commercial lithium-ion battery production subsidiary of Forge Nano, has been selected for award negotiations of up to $100 million in non-dilutive funding by the Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) to expand Forge’s North Carolina lithium-ion battery gigafactory production capacity to 3 gigawatt hours per year (GWh/year).

The $100-million DOE funding would be combined with $140 million from Forge Battery to increase the Morrisville, NC facility’s production in order to fulfil mounting customer demand for domestically produced battery cells. Forge Battery expects to produce commercial lithium-ion cells at 1 GWh/year starting in 2026 and expand the facility to 3 GWh/year.

Forge Battery’s Made-in-America cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells will be produced with a US-dominant supply chain, with 90% of cell contents being sourced within the United States. Forge Battery began shipping prototype A-Sample cells in bulk in July 2024 to current customers, which account for multiple GWh/year in confirmed off-take.

The Forge Battery Gen 1.1. Supercell, the company’s first commercial product, has a confirmed specific energy of 300 Wh/kg and will be undergoing cycle life testing for a variety of application-specific requirements for current and future customers. Forge Battery expects its A-Sample cells will meet industry standard lifetimes suitable for its intended target customer markets, which include electric trucks, off-highway vehicles, motorcycles and aerospace and Department of Defense (DoD) applications.

With the expansion to 3 GWh/year, Forge Battery expects to employ more than 280 full-time employees, with more than 550 temporary jobs created during construction and equipment installation.