TLDR
- ABAT stock rose 30% after the U.S. Department of Energy reinstated its $115 million grant for a commercial-scale lithium refinery.
- The grant was originally terminated in October 2025 as part of a broad DOE sweep that cancelled hundreds of awards.
- American Battery Technology appealed on October 10, 2025, and won a full reinstatement with no changes to funds or milestones.
- The project — Tonopah Flats Lithium Project in Nevada — will initially produce 5,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide per year.
- The project carries a lifetime after-tax NPV of $2.57 billion and an IRR of 21.8%, per a 2025 PreFeasibility Study.
American Battery Technology (ABAT) stock jumped 30% Monday after the company won its appeal with the U.S. Department of Energy, securing full reinstatement of a federal grant for its $115 million lithium refinery project.
American Battery Technology Company Common Stock, ABAT
The DOE restored the grant in its entirety — no cuts to funding, no changes to technical or commercial milestones.
The grant supports construction of the first phase of ABAT’s Tonopah Flats Lithium Project in Nevada, a commercial-scale critical mineral refinery.
ABAT was first selected for the five-year DOE grant back in October 2022. The company had already completed the first two contracted years when the DOE terminated the award on October 9, 2025, as part of a wider sweep that cancelled hundreds of grants.
ABAT filed its appeal just one day later, on October 10, 2025.
The company then entered the Informal Dispute Resolution process with the DOE. After months of technical and commercial reviews, the DOE concluded that reversing the termination and continuing the project was “warranted.”
What the Project Looks Like
The Tonopah Flats refinery will have an initial capacity of 5,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide per year.
A PreFeasibility Study published in October 2025 put the project’s lifetime after-tax NPV at $2.57 billion at an 8% discount rate, with an internal rate of return of 21.8%.
The Tonopah Flats Lithium Project was also selected in June 2025 by the White House’s National Energy Dominance Council and the FAST-41 Permitting Council as a critical mineral Priority Project, qualifying it for streamlined federal permitting.
ABAT describes Tonopah Flats as one of the largest identified critical mineral lithium resources in the United States.
CEO Reaction
CEO Ryan Melsert said the company is “proud of our long-standing partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy.”
He added the company is “grateful that after rigorous due diligence it has concluded that this critical mineral lithium refinery project has achieved all of its contracted technical and commercial milestones to date.”
With the funding restored, ABAT said it can now move forward to advance the Tonopah Flats project.
The contract also includes an updated project schedule to account for time lost during the review and appeal process.
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