In a move to enhance domestic electric vehicle (EV) production, the U.S. Department of Energy has finalized a groundbreaking loan of $9.63 billion to the BlueOval SK joint venture, a collaboration between Ford Motor Company and South Korean battery manufacturer SK On. Marking the largest loan ever allocated from the government's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program, the funding will facilitate the construction of three state-of-the-art battery manufacturing plants located in Tennessee and Kentucky.