American Battery Technology reinstates $115M DOE grant for lithium refinery

American Battery Technology Company (NASDAQ:ABAT) announced today that it has successfully won its appeal with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) regarding the reinstatement of a competitive grant award.

The grant supports a $115 million project to construct the first phase of a commercial-scale lithium hydroxide refinery as part of the company's Tonopah Flats Lithium Project (TFLP) in Nevada.

The federal grant, which had been previously terminated in late 2025 following a broad review process by the DOE, has been restored in its entirety.

According to the company, the agreement includes no changes to the awarded funds or the established technical and commercial milestones.

The contract now features an updated project schedule to account for the time elapsed during the review and appeal process.

The Tonopah Flats project is designed to be a centerpiece of domestic critical mineral production.

Located in the Big Smoky Valley of Nevada, the refinery aims to utilize ABTC’s proprietary, low-environmental-impact extraction technologies to process lithium-rich sedimentary claystone.

The facility is projected to have an initial output of 5,000 tonnes per year of battery-grade lithium hydroxide.

Economic projections for the site remain robust, with a published pre-feasibility study estimating an after-tax net present value (NPV) at an 8% discount rate of $2.57 billion.

The project boasts an internal rate of return (IRR) of 21.8%, with estimated production costs of $4,307 per tonne.