Green Energy Company on the Brink of Bankruptcy Months After Winning a $375M Loan From Biden Admin

A battery recycling company backed by the Biden administration is warning it may shut down, despite being promised a $375 million government loan just days before President Biden left office.

Key Facts:

Li-Cycle Holdings received a $375 million loan commitment from the Department of Energy (DOE) in November 2023.
The loan was finalized just two days after President Biden lost re-election.
CEO Ajay Kochhar initially hesitated to apply due to financial concerns, but was pushed forward by DOE loan chief Jigar Shah.
Li-Cycle reported a $137 million loss in 2023 and warned of “substantial doubt” about its ability to stay in business.
Other DOE-funded green companies like Sunnova Energy and Plug Power are also facing severe financial trouble.

The Rest of The Story:

Li-Cycle, a Canadian battery recycling firm, has hit financial turbulence and disclosed in its recent SEC filing that it may not survive.

The company, which hasn’t yet received any federal funds, is unable to meet the financial requirements needed to access the $375 million loan promised under Biden’s green energy initiative.

The loan was part of a last-minute $20 billion wave of green energy funding approved by the Department of Energy just before Biden left office.

Though Li-Cycle paused construction on its recycling facility in Rochester, NY, years ago due to lack of funds, DOE still pushed ahead.

This comes amid broader concerns about the Biden administration’s green loan program, which ballooned to $400 billion and is now under scrutiny for poor vetting and risk of fraud.

Republican Sen. John Barrasso had already warned the DOE about Li-Cycle’s financial instability, calling the loan push “bad judgment.”

Commentary:

This situation exposes yet another example of Biden’s reckless green energy spending spree.

From the beginning, the administration seemed more focused on pushing out taxpayer dollars than ensuring those dollars were spent wisely.

The Li-Cycle case is just one in a string of flops.

Even the company’s own CEO expressed hesitation about applying for the loan—until the government urged him to do so anyway.

Jigar Shah, the man overseeing the DOE’s loan program, told him to “get your ass to Pittsburgh.”

That’s not due diligence; that’s desperation to meet political goals before leaving office.

And it’s not just Li-Cycle.

Sunnova Energy, which was promised $3 billion in taxpayer-backed loan guarantees, is teetering on bankruptcy.

Plug Power, another green energy darling approved for $1.6 billion, is laying off hundreds.

These are companies that can’t stand on their own, yet received massive support based on ideology, not business fundamentals.

What we’re seeing is the fallout of the administration shoveling out cash to politically connected green startups, many of which were never viable in the first place.

There was little concern about performance, sustainability, or accountability—just a race to hand out money.

The DOE’s loan office is now under investigation for conflict-of-interest violations, and it’s not hard to see why.

When a loan program balloons from a modest office into a $400 billion behemoth almost overnight, oversight collapses.

The result? Waste, fraud, and taxpayer pain.

This isn’t about promoting clean energy responsibly—it’s about rewarding favored industries and donors with borrowed money.

And when it falls apart, the same bureaucrats walk away, while taxpayers are left footing the bill.

The Bottom Line:

Li-Cycle’s looming collapse adds to a growing list of green energy firms that have collapsed or are likely to falter.

The Biden administration’s rush to hand out loans before leaving office now looks like a financial and ethical mess.

As these companies struggle or fail, the consequences of politically motivated, poorly vetted spending are becoming clearer—and American taxpayers are paying the price.