Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) (“Mullen” or the “Company”), an emerging electric vehicle (“EV”) manufacturer, announces its subsidiary Mullen Advanced Energy, LLC (“Mullen Advanced Energy”) submitted a pre-application to the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (“ATVM”) Loan Program to support its expansion into domestic battery manufacturing. The ATVM is a $25 billion-dollar direct loan program funded by Congress in fall 2008 to provide debt capital to the U.S. automotive industry for the purpose of funding projects that help vehicles manufactured in the U.S. meet higher mileage requirements and lessen U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
The Mullen submission is a first step in the ATVM loan process. The Company’s $50 million submission details its plans to produce approximately 150,000 battery packs through calendar year 2032 to support Mullen’s EVs, including those currently assembled in the U.S. at the Company’s Tunica, Mississippi-based plant and requested funding to support capital investment to be used for plant equipment and tooling to maximize capacity at Mullen’s new 122,000-square-foot high-energy facility in Fullerton, California.
“We are fully committed to transitioning the manufacturing of EVs and their related components in the U.S.,” said David Michery, CEO and chairman of Mullen Automotive. “We are grateful for the vision of Congress and the federal government to provide resources to support the establishment of U.S.-based battery manufacturing.”