United States Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo held a press conference with Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen at the Reno, Nevada, headquarters of Dragonfly Energy Holdings Corp., maker of Battle Born Batteries.
During the event, Rosen, alongside Raimondo, announced an investment of $21 million in federal funding in the Nevada Tech Hub, a consortium led by the University of Nevada, Reno. The Nevada Tech Hub supports the Nevada lithium economy and companies like Dragonfly Energy, which are integral in technology development.
Dragonfly Energy was selected as the host location for the announcement and serves as an example of the technological innovation happening in Nevada. During the visit, Dragonfly Energy Chief Executive Officer Dr. Denis Phares toured the facility with Raimondo and Rosen, giving an in-depth look at the Company’s manufacturing process.
“The designation and creation of UNR’s lithium loop tech hub, it’s going to create new economic opportunities by strengthening public and private partnerships and helping to advance our nation’s energy goals,” Sen. Rosen said in her speech. “The funding and creation of the lithium loop — it represents an important step forward. This funding is going to invest in STEM education, it’s going to invest in workforce training and it’s going to help us grow our leading role in the lithium supply chain.”
In her speech, Raimondo detailed the importance of scaling up American manufacturing and technological innovation in an effort to stimulate job growth along with investing in critical technologies to strengthen U.S. economic competitiveness.
“This is a vote of confidence in Nevada,” Secretary Raimondo said. “I spend all of my days thinking about how we can outcompete the world, how we can outcompete China, how America can lead in the world. And that’s what this is all about — investing in America, one community at a time, to create industries of the future.”
“Having the Secretary and Senator’s support in solidifying Nevada as a leader in the lithium economy is vital to our mission,” Phares said. “Dragonfly Energy continues to be devoted to innovation and development of technology that will enable us to compete on the world stage, not just domestically.”
The Nevada Tech Hub is one of several tech hubs across the country that were developed to scale up the production of critical technologies, create jobs in innovative industries, strengthen U.S. economic competitiveness and national security, and accelerate the growth of industries of the future across the U.S. The focus of the Nevada Tech Hub is to build a self-sustaining and globally competitive complete lithium life cycle within the state, spanning extraction, processing, manufacturing and recycling.
The event was well attended by federal, state and local economic development leaders.
For more information about Dragonfly Energy, visit dragonflyenergy.com. For more information on the Nevada Tech Hub, click here.
