DOE Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program
The Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program provides direct loans from the U.S. Treasury to automobile manufacturers and auto parts suppliers that want to retool, expand, or establish U.S. manufacturing facilities to produce advanced technology vehicles and qualifying components. Authorized by Section 136 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. § 17013), the program became one of the most high-profile federal industrial policy tools of the early EV era — providing the capital that helped Tesla, Ford, and Nissan launch American EV and fuel-efficient vehicle manufacturing at scale. The program has been substantially expanded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (2021) and the Inflation Reduction Act (2022), though deployment of available loan authority has been intermittent depending on political and administrative priorities.
Current Rule (2026)
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Citation | 10 CFR Part 611 |
| Issuing agency | Department of Energy — Loan Programs Office (LPO) |
| Statutory authority | 42 U.S.C. § 17013 (EISA 2007 § 136) |
| Last major amendment | 89 FR 33203 (April 2024) — IRA/BIL implementation |
Legal Authority
- 42 U.S.C. § 17013 — Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Section 136: authorizes the ATVM loan program; directs the Secretary of Energy to provide direct loans to manufacturers of advanced technology vehicles and qualifying components for facility retooling and establishment
- 10 CFR Part 611 — DOE regulations implementing the ATVM loan program; establishes eligibility criteria, application requirements, loan terms, and financial viability standards
- Pub. L. 117-58 (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, 2021): expanded ATVM eligible vehicle types and appropriated additional funds
- Pub. L. 117-169 (Inflation Reduction Act, 2022): further expanded ATVM to include medium/heavy trucks, nonroad vehicles, and train locomotives; added manufacturing facility grant authority under Subpart C
Key Mechanics
The ATVM program provides direct loans at Treasury borrowing rates — far below commercial market rates for large industrial projects. Loans are made through DOE's Loan Programs Office (LPO) and disbursed via the Federal Financing Bank. Applicants must demonstrate financial viability (the program is not a bailout mechanism), provide detailed project financing plans, and pass environmental review under NEPA. Loan approval requires Congressional notification for loans above certain thresholds. The program's most notable transactions include Tesla ($465M loan, repaid with interest in 2013 ahead of schedule), Ford ($5.9B for electrification of Ford F-150 production), and Nissan ($1.4B for Leaf production in Tennessee).
What This Rule Does
The ATVM program offers two types of financial assistance to advanced vehicle manufacturers: direct loans (Subpart B) and manufacturing facility grants (Subpart C). The loans are made by DOE through the Federal Financing Bank — the U.S. government's own borrowing agent — at Treasury borrowing rates, making them far cheaper than commercial financing for capital-intensive factory projects. The IRA and BIL expanded eligible vehicle types to include nonroad vehicles (construction equipment, agricultural machinery), medium and heavy trucks, and the full range of clean energy-propelled vehicles.
Eligible applicants are manufacturers of qualifying advanced technology vehicles — defined broadly to include plug-in hybrids, battery EVs, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and vehicles meeting specific fuel economy improvement thresholds — as well as manufacturers of qualifying components such as battery packs, motors, and power electronics. A critical eligibility gate: applicants must demonstrate they are financially viable without additional federal funding — the program is designed for manufacturers that can sustain operations but need capital for specific technology transition projects, not bailouts for failing companies.
Key Provisions
- § 611.100 — Eligible applicant: on-road or nonroad advanced technology vehicle manufacturers demonstrating required fuel economy improvement; manufacturers of qualifying components; applicants must prove financial viability without additional federal funds
- § 611.101 — Application requirements: detailed project description, eligibility certification, total cost estimate and financing plan, description of advanced technology, management capabilities, environmental compliance strategy; vehicle simulations using industry standard modeling required for fuel economy projections
- § 611.102 — Eligible costs: reequipping, expanding, or establishing U.S. manufacturing facilities to produce qualifying vehicles or components; engineering integration costs performed in the United States; costs incurred after a substantially complete application is submitted
- § 611.103 — Evaluation criteria: technical merit (fuel economy improvement above minimum); potential contribution to U.S. fleet fuel economy; petroleum reduction; commercial viability; financial soundness; U.S. employment and economic benefits
- § 611.105 — Loan agreement terms: DOE contracting officer must execute the agreement; no oral representations are binding; loan covers no more than 80 percent of total project costs (applicant must put in at least 20%)
- § 611.107 — Loan terms: maximum term is 25 years or the projected useful life of the facility, whichever is shorter; interest rate equals Treasury rate for comparable maturity at time of drawdown; principal repayment may be deferred up to 5 years after the facility begins operations
- § 611.200–611.204 — Manufacturing Facility Award Program (grants): DOE may issue manufacturing facility grants (not loans) of up to 30 percent of eligible project costs to auto manufacturers and component makers; grants apply to facilities and equipment placed in service before December 30, 2020; 10 percent set-aside for small manufacturers with fewer than 500 employees; priority given to retooling existing facilities, especially those 20+ years old or currently idle
How It Affects You
If you're an advanced vehicle or component manufacturer: The ATVM loan program's key advantage is the Treasury interest rate — typically 1–3 percentage points below commercial lending rates for long-term industrial projects, translating to significant savings on a $500M–$5B project. The tradeoff is the federal oversight: ATVM borrowers must submit to extensive DOE monitoring, audit access, environmental review, and reporting obligations for the life of the loan. Projects using loan proceeds must also comply with prevailing wage requirements under the Davis-Bacon Act and other federal labor standards tied to federal financial assistance. The "financially viable" eligibility requirement means distressed companies cannot typically qualify.
For the U.S. EV supply chain: ATVM loans have historically funded the physical factories that anchor domestic EV manufacturing capacity. The program's most famous loans — $465M to Tesla (repaid 2013), $5.9B to Ford for hybrid and EV development, $1.4B to Nissan for the Leaf assembly plant in Smyrna, Tennessee — were made during 2009–2011 and helped establish U.S. advanced vehicle manufacturing infrastructure during a critical window. The program also suffered a notable failure (Fisker Automotive received a $529M loan commitment, drew $192M before its 2013 bankruptcy, and DOE recovered roughly $53M — a net taxpayer loss of about $139M). The IRA's expansion of eligible vehicle types to include medium/heavy trucks opens the program to commercial vehicle electrification, a much larger market segment than passenger cars.
Political context: The ATVM program's deployment has been politically variable. The Obama administration activated it aggressively during the 2009–2012 EV scale-up. Activity slowed under Trump (2017–2021) and accelerated again under Biden. Under the current Trump administration (2025–), the DOE Loan Programs Office's future is uncertain — the administration has expressed skepticism toward federal clean energy lending programs, and new loan commitments depend on LPO's administrative posture.
Statutory Authority
- 42 U.S.C. § 17013 — EISA 2007 § 136: the primary ATVM authorization; directs DOE to promulgate regulations specifying eligibility criteria; authorizes direct loans for reequipping/expanding/establishing U.S. vehicle manufacturing facilities; authorizes facility grants up to 30% of costs
- Section 40401(b) of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (P.L. 117-58, 2021) — expanded eligible vehicle types and authorized additional funding
- Section 50142 of the Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169, 2022) — further expanded eligibility to include medium/heavy vehicles and nonroad vehicles; added domestic content requirements
Recent Rulemakings
89 FR 33203 (April 2024) — Final rule implementing ATVM program changes from the BIL and IRA: expanded the definition of "advanced technology vehicle" to include nonroad vehicles, medium and heavy trucks, and vehicles propelled by clean hydrogen; updated eligibility requirements; revised financial viability standards to reflect expanded applicant pool. This was the first significant ATVM regulatory update since the program's early years.
86 FR 3761 (January 2021) — Technical amendments clarifying loan terms and collateral requirements.