U.S. Awards Amprius Up to $75 Million to Expand Domestic Drone Battery Production

Federal grant will support conversion of an existing EV battery line to produce high-energy-density cells for Group 1, 2 and 3 drones

Amprius Technologies (NYSE: AMPX) has received a federal grant of up to $75 million to expand U.S. production of batteries for unmanned aerial systems. The award will support the conversion of an existing U.S. electric vehicle battery production line. Amprius plans to use the facility to produce high-energy-density cells for Group 1, 2 and 3 drones.

The U.S. Department of War awarded the grant through its Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program. The program supports domestic manufacturing capabilities considered important to national defense. Amprius says the project aims to establish high-volume U.S. manufacturing for advanced drone batteries. The company plans to reconfigure a production line operated by a major South Korean battery manufacturer in the United States.

The companies expect the project to cost about $100 million. That figure includes in-kind investments from Amprius and its manufacturing partner.

Building U.S. Capacity for Drone Batteries

Amprius expects the converted line to have capacity for 12 million cells per year. The company plans to complete the project in early 2028. The cells are intended to meet domestic sourcing requirements under the National Defense Authorization Act: providing a larger domestic source of batteries for defense drone manufacturers.

“This DoW grant is intended to establish a primary source of domestic, NDAA-compliant battery production,” said Amprius CEO Tom Stepien. “Our technology, combined with the U.S. manufacturing prowess of our South Korean manufacturing partner, positions us to accelerate adoption of standardized, high-performance pouch cells in a fast-growing market.”

The new capacity will add to Amprius’ existing manufacturing network in the United States, South Korea and China.

Amprius develops silicon-anode lithium-ion batteries for aviation, defense and mobility applications. The company says its technology can provide higher energy density than conventional graphite-based cells.

Earlier this month, Amprius introduced a second-generation SiCore cell designed for long-endurance aviation. The company says that cell reaches 500 Wh/kg while using conventional lithium-ion manufacturing equipment.

The latest federal award focuses not only on battery performance, but also on where those batteries can be produced. For U.S. defense drone manufacturers, domestic sourcing requirements have made the location and scale of component production increasingly important. If completed as planned, the converted production line would give Amprius significantly more U.S. capacity to supply high-energy-density pouch cells for small and medium-sized unmanned aircraft.