The Trump Administration has reportedly pulled the plug on a $197 million federal grant for a future battery plant in north St. Louis. ICL Specialty Products has been planning to invest $500 million into the plant and create over 150 new jobs.
Gov. Mike Kehoe told Missourinet he wants to make the case to the Trump Administration about the important business aspect of the factory.
Missouri Congresswoman Ann Wagner (Photo by Marshall Griffin)
“We certainly want to make sure the administration knows how important those jobs are to us. That grant was awarded under the Biden Administration. I think they’re looking at any grant no matter St. Louis, or Missouri, or different states, what it went to and what the business case is behind it,” said Kehoe.
Missouri Congresswoman, and fellow Republican, Ann Wagner said her office is looking into it:
“The company couldn’t even meet or discuss anything with us until early this week. So, we’re going to be meeting with them, (and) we’ll be meeting with the Department of Energy and we’ll see where this goes. I, you know, obviously we like growth and investment in our country and in our Missouri infrastructure,” Wagner told Missourinet. “We’re speaking both with the company and with the Department of Energy, and I hope that we’re gonna get things all worked out here – but we’re in discussions right now, I can tell you.”
According to the St. Louis Business Journal, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the cuts are meant to save taxpayer dollars, as many of the grants were for clean energy projects.
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