WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Energy Department decided on Monday to cancel contract negotiations on a $200 million award for Microvast Holdings, a lithium battery company, a source familiar with the matter said.
The department had been in talks for $200 million in funding to Microvast from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law for developing domestic manufacturing bases and supply chains.
Last December, two Republican lawmakers had slammed the decision to grant the funding in a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm saying Microvast had ties to the Chinese government.
The source declined to say whether the decision to cancel the negotiations had anything to do with any concerns about China ties. Contract decisions are made on factors including company’s past performance, financial management and accounting systems, the source said.
(This story has been corrected to say source declined to comment on whether the cancellation had anything to do with any China ties with Microvast, and not that the source said the cancellation had nothing to do with any China ties, in paragraph 4)
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Stephen Coates)
