Forge Nano will break ground on a substantial expansion of its Morrisville, North Carolina lithium-ion battery gigafactory on August 19, marking the next phase of a $100 million U.S. Department of Energy-backed project aimed at rebuilding a domestic supply chain for defense, aerospace and drone batteries.
3 GWh of NDAA-compliant capacity
The Morrisville expansion adds a new second floor and manufacturing footprint to Forge Nano's existing facility, taking output to roughly 3 GWh per year — equivalent to about 150 million battery cells annually. At full production, the plant could support 10–20 million drone batteries, 34,000 electric military vehicles, 6 million BB-2590 radio batteries, 900 6T (Type 2) batteries, or roughly 275 energy storage system containers per year, depending on customer demand and product mix.
DOE and Samsung SDI backing
The project is financed by up to $100 million in non-dilutive funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, alongside strategic investment, technical collaboration and manufacturing support from South Korea's Samsung SDI. Forge Nano said the cadence aligns with new National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) battery sourcing requirements coming into effect, giving the U.S. an NDAA-compliant alternative to Chinese cells that dominate today's commercial market.
Path to Nasdaq via SPAC merger
Forge Nano is preparing to go public by merging with Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners II Co. (Nasdaq: ATII). This month the company closed its Series D and raised its PIPE financing to $123 million at $10.00 per share, anchored by Samsung SDI's earlier investment. CEO Paul Lichty said the project's continued backing "underscores the importance of establishing a resilient domestic battery supply chain."
The Morrisville expansion joins a wave of U.S. domestic-manufacturing bets covered by The Robotics Media, including TSMC's $100B Arizona expansion, Helsing's West Virginia strike-drone plant, and Hithium's Spanish LFP gigafactory. Operations at the Forge Nano plant are expected to begin in 2028.
Reporting based on coverage from GlobeNewswire, Design and Development Today, Investing.com and Manila Times.