电池无处不在，甚至在战场上也是如此，这有助于解释五角大楼近期为何对扩大国内制造产能产生兴趣。
Batteries are everywhere, even on the battlefield, which helps explain the Pentagon’s recent interest in building more domestic manufacturing capacity.
这家位于马萨诸塞州北安多弗、已有12年历史的初创公司6K周四宣布，其获得美国国防部2.5亿美元贷款的有条件批准，将在田纳西州建厂。该工厂将采用独特的微波驱动工艺生产不依赖中国供应商的电池材料。
The 12-year-old, North Andover, Mass.-based startup 6K announced Thursday that it won conditional approval for a $250 million loan from the Department of Defense to build a factory in Tennessee. The plant will use a unique microwave-powered process to produce battery materials that don’t rely on Chinese suppliers.
该公司此前根据《两党基础设施法》获得能源部5000万美元拨款，但这笔2023年的拨款在特朗普政府混乱撤销拜登时期奖项的过程中被取消，迫使6K重新申请。
The company previously received a $50 million grant from the Department of Energy under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, though that 2023 grant was canceled by the Trump administration in a chaotic sweep of Biden-era awards, forcing 6K to reapply.
最初，该工厂原定于2024年开业，但拨款取消以及电动汽车市场的不确定性迫使该公司重新调整计划。
Initially, the factory was originally slated to open in 2024, but the grant cancelation and uncertainties in the EV market forced the company to rejigger its plans.
6K的制造工艺利用微波将金属加热成等离子体，然后将其沉积到表面上，从而减少了制造阴极材料（电池关键组件）所需的步骤。该公司表示，该工艺可适用于多种不同类型的电池，包括磷酸铁锂（LFP）。
6K’s manufacturing process uses microwaves to heat metals into a plasma and then deposit them onto a surface, reducing the number of steps required to make cathode material, a key battery component. The company says the process can work on a number of different battery types, including lithium iron phosphate (LFP).
