New documents show Rivian has applied for a federal loan to help finance the $5 billion electric vehicle factory it plans to build an hour east of Atlanta, the most significant sign the company is making moves to resume construction of the stalled project.
Details about the loan application with the U.S. Department of Energy are limited, but the application is referenced in a draft environmental assessment of the factory site that was posted online in recent days. The precise dollar amount of the loan Rivian is seeking and other details on potential terms were not available.
Asked why it is seeking the assistance and for specifics on the size of the loan, a Rivian spokesman said the company was "unable to comment at this time." The company also did not directly address whether construction of the Georgia factory is contingent on the DOE's approval of the loan.
The DOE said it "does not comment on active applications moving through its rigorous evaluation process," but added that the documents are not an indication that a decision on the loan has been made.
Rivian's Georgia plant has been billed as the second-largest economic development project in state history and has promised to deliver 7,500 jobs.
But in March, the company announced it was pausing construction indefinitely at the site in southern Morgan and Walton counties and shifting initial production of its new crossover model, the R2, to its existing plant in Illinois. Despite the pause, Rivian repeatedly has said it is committed to building its next factory in Georgia, where it has said it'll expand production of the R2 and produce two future models.