Microvast (NASDAQ:MVST) shares plummeted 22.7% in pre-market trading Tuesday after the lithium battery company was denied a $200 million grant from the U.S. Energy Department. The grant was part of the $1 trillion 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, and was intended to strengthen America’s battery production and supply chain.
The Energy Department reportedly told Microvast that it failed to receive the grant due to its alleged links to China’s government. The two sides had been in talks for Microvast to build a plant in Tennessee.
Representative Frank Lucas, a Republican, said the news was “a win for taxpayers and American businesses.” He added that the funds were not intended to “tighten China’s stranglehold on these supplies.”
Shares of Microvast had been up 43.8% through Monday’s close. The stock is now down 24% in pre-market trading.