Cortez Masto Announces $21 Million for UNR’s National Tech Hub to Strengthen Battery and Critical Minerals Supply Chain

Las Vegas, Nev. - As part of her Innovation State Initiative, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) announced today that the University of Nevada, Reno's nationally recognized Tech Hub will receive nearly $21 million from the Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration (EDA) to support projects that will bolster the production and processing of batteries and critical minerals like lithium, help develop clean energy jobs, and help unleash U.S. energy independence.

In the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, Senator Cortez Masto supported the creation of the program that makes the Nevada Lithium Batteries and Other EV Material Loop Tech Hub designation and funding possible. She has led the fight to help Nevada and UNR position themselves as a global leader in the lithium economy - both through this critical Tech Hub designation and through work to support UNR's application to the U.S. National Science Foundation's Regional Innovation Engines program. Together, these designations would support a network of public-private partnerships throughout 16 counties in Nevada.

"I am excited to see this federal designation and funding I helped secure coming to UNR's national Tech Hub to strengthen Nevada's clean energy supply chain and help create more good-paying jobs in lithium battery manufacturing and recycling," said Senator Cortez Masto. "This investment from the CHIPS and Science Act is a testament to Nevada's leadership in developing new cutting-edge technologies, and I'm going to keep fighting to bring in more resources to support our clean energy future and boost our global competitiveness."

Senator Cortez Masto has consistently worked to support Nevada's battery supply chain and create good-paying clean energy jobs across Nevada. Since the start of her Innovation State Initiative, Cortez Masto has been a proponent of renewable and sustainable energy, passing bipartisan legislation to promote Nevada's mining and emerging battery industries and set up a sustainable critical mineral supply chain, and leading efforts in the Senate to create good-paying solar energy jobs. When she helped pass the bipartisan infrastructure law, she made sure it included her legislation to advance cleaner transportation, including through the battery manufacturing and recycling program that is supporting emerging technologies and job creating private sector projects in Nevada.

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