Factbox-U.S. climate package jump-starts EV, clean energy projects

By Valerie Volcovici

(Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's signing of the Infrastructure Reduction Act (IRA) on Aug. 16 unlocked hundreds of billions of dollars in climate-related investments.

As a result, dozens of energy, automobile and clean technology companies have announced plans to move forward with new projects or accelerate the timeline on previous deals.

Here are some of examples:

EV/BATTERIES

* Honda and LG Energy Solution – $4.4 billion for a newbattery plant with annual production capacity of 40 GWh. * Hyundai – Construction of $5.54 billion EV and batteryplant in Savannah, Georgia, could start this year instead ofJanuary 2023. * Panasonic – Second new battery plant: Panasonic, an EVbattery supplier to Tesla, is considering Oklahoma for itssecond new $4 billion battery plant. The first plant will be inKansas. * Tesla - Lithium refinery: EV giant Tesla is seekingapproval in Texas to set up a lithium refinery. Constructioncould begin in the fourth quarter of 2022 and would reachcommercial production by the end of 2024. * Volkswagen – Volkswagen signed an agreement with Canada toadvance a sustainable battery supply chain and supply lithium,nickel and cobalt. * Sparkz – More jobs: The battery startup in late Augustannounced Taylor County, West Virginia, as the site of a futureplant that will commercialize a zero-cobalt battery. * Piedmont Lithium Inc - Lithium processing plant: Thecompany said on Sept. 1 it will build a $600 million lithiumprocessing plant in Etowah, Tennessee, that will beginproduction in 2025 with a target of 30,000 metric ton per year.

RENEWABLES

* Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie project the U.S. solar market growing 40% more than prior forecasts through 2027 on the heels of the legislation.

* First Solar - Expanded manufacturing: Top U.S. solarpanel maker First Solar Inc said on Aug. 30 it spend $1 billionto build a new facility in the Southeast and invest $185 millionin its existing Ohio factories. * SPI Energy – Letter of Intent for U.S. solar wafermanufacturing: SPI Energy announced on Aug. 23 that it signed aletter of intent to secure 1.5 GW of solar wafer manufacturingequipment, as part of plans for 3 GW of U.S. manufacturingcapacity by 2024. * REC Silicon and Mississippi Silicon – Solar supply chainexpansion agreement: REC Silicon and Mississippi Silicon, whichproduce raw materials used in solar panels, announced on Aug. 22they will expand their relationship to support development of anend-to-end U.S. solar supply chain.

BATTERY STORAGE

* Kontrolmatik Technologies – Expansion of grid-scalebattery factory: Virginia-based energy storage companyKontrolmatik announced on Aug. 16 that its first U.S.-basedlithium-ion battery factory, previously expected to have a 2 GWhcapacity, will now have a 3 GWh capacity. * Zinc8 – New battery manufacturing facility: Zinc8announced Aug. 12 it signed a letter of intent to make UlsterCounty, New York, the home of its first major manufacturing hub,citing incentives included in the IRA.

HEAT PUMPS

* Carrier – Center of Excellence for heat pump production:On Aug. 24, air conditioning company Carrier designated afacility in Tennessee as site for high-efficiency heat pumpproduction.

DIRECT AIR CAPTURE

* CarbonCapture — Accelerated project: Los Angeles-basedCarbonCapture announced on Sept. 8 it is speeding up its plansto build a 5 million ton-per-year direct air capture project inWyoming by several months thanks to the IRA.

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici in Washington; additional reporting by Nichola Groom in Los Angeles and Ernest Scheyder in Houston; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)