ABTC wins DOE appeal, restores grant

American Battery Technology Company (ABTC) has announced it has successfully appealed the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) termination, regaining its grant for its US$115 million construction project.

Originally awarded in 2022, the US$57 million grant was going toward building a new commercial scale lithium manufacturing facility at its Tonopah Flats Lithium Project in Nevada. In late 2025, the grant was terminated by the DOE. According to ABTC, it submitted an appeal the day after being notified of the termination, entering immediately into the Informal Dispute Resolution (IDR) process. Following months of reviews and meetings, the DOE sent a notice to ABTC stating: “The department has concluded that rescission of the termination notice and continuation of the project is warranted.”

Ryan Melsert, the CEO of ABTC, praised the DOE’s decision, stating that the company is proud of its longstanding relationship with the department. “Of the hundreds of DOE grants terminated last Fall very few have been able to successfully appeal the decisions and have their contracts reinstated,” he said.

ABTC said the grant has been reinstated in its entirety with an updated schedule to account for the review process.

The initial termination happened alongside President Donald Trump’s FY2026 discretionary budget request, which cancelled over US$15 billion in so-called “Green New Deal” funds.

“We consider the U.S. Department of Energy one of our closest long-term partners and look forward to continuing to work with them throughout multiple administrations to continue to drive domestic critical mineral projects,” Melsert concluded.