The company that’s promised to build a massive aluminum rolling mill in northeastern Kentucky is looking for a new loan of up to $800 million.
Braidy Industries is seeking the money from a federal program that hasn’t given out a loan in almost eight years.
The aluminum mill planned for Greenup County has been hailed by Gov. Matt Bevin as a major win in his administration’s efforts to attract new jobs and industry to the Commonwealth.
The Courier-Journal reports Braidy has applied to borrow up to $800 million from the U.S Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing direct loan program. That would cover almost half of the estimated $1.7 billion cost to build the mill that plans to supply lightweight sheet aluminum for automakers, creating more than 500 jobs.
The federal loan program was created to lend money to businesses making certain kinds of fuel-efficient cars or parts for such vehicles.
Five companies, including Ford, Nissan, and Tesla, have gotten loans from the program. The other two loans went to companies that shut down without repaying millions of dollars in taxpayer funds they borrowed.
President Trump’s administration has suggested ending the loan program.
The state government has invested $15 million in the Braidy plant, which broke ground last June.
