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The Biden administration is providing a $2.26 billion loan to Lithium Americas, the largest lithium-mining project in the US, to build a refining plant at its Thacker Pass mine in Nevada. The loan is part of the administration's efforts to increase domestic production of rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles (EVs). The project is expected to initially produce 40,000 metric tons of battery-quality lithium annually, enough for 800,000 EVs, with production starting in 2027 and eventually increasing to 80,000 tons a year. The funding aims to reduce the country's reliance on China for battery minerals and support the goal of having half of new vehicle sales be EVs by 2030. However, the project has faced opposition from environmentalists and local Native American activists. [Extracted from the article]