Amprius Wins $75 Million Grant to Make Drone Batteries in the US
Amprius Technologies has been awarded a grant of up to $75 million from the US Department of War to convert an existing American electric-vehicle battery line into a production line for drone cells. The Fremont, California company announced the award on September 28.
The money comes through the department’s Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) program, which funds domestic manufacturing capability considered critical to national defense. Amprius said the aim is high-volume, commercially viable US production of advanced batteries for Group 1, 2 and 3 unmanned aircraft.
An EV Line Is Retooled for Drone Cells
Amprius plans to reconfigure a U.S.-based EV battery line run by what it calls a major South Korean manufacturer. The company did not name the partner. When the work is finished, planned for early 2028, the line is expected to turn out 12 million Amprius cells a year.
Amprius said the cells are intended to meet the domestic sourcing requirements of the National Defense Authorization Act. Compliance with those rules has become a purchasing hurdle for US drone makers that have relied on Chinese cells. The conversion is expected to cost about $100 million, including in-kind contributions from Amprius and its Korean partner.
The line will make pouch cells, and the company said it widens its existing contract manufacturing relationships. Amprius already builds through partners in China, South Korea and the United States, and it says the contract model lets it add capacity with little capital of its own.
“This DoW grant is intended to establish a primary source of domestic, NDAA-compliant battery production,” said chief executive Tom Stepien. He added that the company’s technology, combined with its Korean partner’s US manufacturing, “positions us to accelerate adoption of standardized, high-performance pouch cells in a fast-growing market.”
Most of the Award Is Not Yet Funded
The headline figure is a ceiling rather than a cheque. In the risk section of its release, Amprius said a majority of the total award amount remains unfunded and depends on future appropriations. Payments are tied to milestones that the US government must accept, and the company noted it relies on third parties, including its manufacturing partner, to perform parts of the work.
Amprius, listed on the NYSE as AMPX, was founded in 2008 to commercialise silicon-anode batteries. The company says its cells offer up to twice the energy density, range and flight time of conventional graphite-based lithium-ion cells. Those are company claims, and the release did not include specifications for the cells planned for the new line.
The award fits a pattern of Pentagon money going into domestic supply chains for defense inputs. Earlier this month the department took a 19.9% stake in tungsten producer Elmet as part of a $450 million tungsten push. Batteries are a similar pressure point for the drone industry, where cell supply has often traced back to Asia.
What comes next depends on the milestones. Amprius has not said when the first payments are expected or when the converted line will produce its first cells ahead of the early 2028 target.
Source: Amprius press release; Army Technology.
