On Friday, the Donald Trump administration pledged more than $2 billion to battery and critical-minerals companies, expanding a government lending spree aimed at reducing U.S. reliance on Chinese suppliers.
Pentagon Leads Funding Push
The Defense Department will lend California-based battery maker Sila Nanotechnologies $1.4 billion, President Trump announced at a State Department roundtable.
Sila, founded in 2011 by a former Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) engineer, Gene Berdichevsky, has raised over $1 billion from investors including T. Rowe Price.
Apart from this, three more deals were signed: a $400 million loan to Australian miner Sunrise Energy Metals for scandium production, a $150 million loan to Minnesota-based advanced manufacturing company Niron Magnetics for rare-earth-free magnets and an $85.5 million equity stake in Strategic Bauxite.
“We want these essential products to be mined, refined and made right here in the USA,” Trump said, adding that the administration has completed roughly 160 minerals deals worth nearly $40 billion.
Equity Stakes Pattern Draws Scrutiny
The administration’s anomalous pattern of taking equity stakes isn’t new.
The Trump administration took a stake in Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) in August 2025, which it claimed would secure domestic semiconductor manufacturing and support national technological leadership.
Critics have flagged rising government equity stakes in private firms, but President Trump has dismissed this criticism.
The recent move follows Trump’s decision on Thursday to impose a 15% tariff and minimum import prices on polysilicon, targeting China’s over 90% share of the material used in solar panels and semiconductors.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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