Ann: E25 HPMSM project selected for US$166M DoE Grant, page-149

If USA is going to have a local battery industry and the associated jobs that come with this, they are going to need a source, or more likely sources of High Purity Manganese. They need HP Manganese if they build are to build NMC style batteries that currently have the highest density and therefore largest range. They need HP Manganese if they are to explore the potential for LMFP. They need a source of HP Manganese if they are going to explore a full range of battery composition options and not restrict development to LFP. Even although low purity Manganese is readily available and not a critical mineral, HP Manganese becomes a critical mineral.

The department of energy realised this and proposed two grants to E25 and S32 to build HP Manganese plants in the USA. If you take a free market view and let the market unfold in a natural rather than government forced way, you would most likely make US government savings and not go through with the grants. That's what the market is pricing will happen hence the low share price. The most obvious reason for Trump and Elon to decide that these grants should continue relates to supply chain security. Instances like the one below where Russia have restricted uranium exports to the USA will remind Trump and Elon that supply chain security is a real risk. Achieving supply chain security can require the government to spend money the government may otherwise consider poor expenditure because it removes a major risk of future potential problems. If Trump and Elon start thinking around supply chain security the chances of the E25 Grant being signed dramatically increase because there aren't a lot of good options available other than USA becoming reliant on China for HP MSM.