U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm announced August 31 that the Biden Administration would begin offering $12 billion in loans and grants to automakers and suppliers so that they can retrofit their facilities to produce EVs as well as other types of advanced vehicles.

"While we transition to EVs, we want to ensure that workers can transition in place. That there is no worker, no community left behind," Granholm, the former governor of Michigan, told reporters in a call.

About $2 billion in grants for advanced vehicles will come from the Inflation Reduction Act that was passed in 2022. Another $10 billion will be provided by the Energy Department’s Loans Program Office.

There will be no specified labor requirements for companies looking to obtain grant funding. According to Reuters, projects with better labor conditions will have a greater chance of receiving money, an Energy Department official said on a call.

The Biden administration will also offer an additional $3.5 billion in funding for domestic car battery manufacturing, Granholm added.

In a release, President Biden said that creating a clean energy economy “can and should provide a win-win opportunity for auto companies and unionized workers who have anchored the American economy for decades."