According to a report, CCP project that the FBI says is employed for economic espionage previously lured to China the creator of a lithium battery business that is about to get a 200 million dollar award from the administration of Joe Biden.
Wu Yang, Microvast’s founder and CEO, returned to China in 2000 through a Chinese government talent program. The Department of Energy’s aim to bolster Microvast with the huge green energy award may collide with the funding. In February, a DOE official stated foreign talent initiatives are prohibited from financing.
It was reported late last year that Microvast operates mainly in China, and legislators have criticized the DOE’s $200 million award to develop a battery separator plant. The Biden administration, in a news release last October, characterized the cash as a done deal, but the department now says the program is under review.
The Microvast CEO’s personnel recruiting campaign may complicate the purchase. Sen. John Barrasso (R., Wyo.), who initially revealed Wu’s role in the Chinese program, wants Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to cease grant talks with Microvast, Inc promptly.
In a 2017 news release, Huzhou’s United Front Work Department, a local division of China’s “United Front” abroad influence campaign, praised Wu for his talent program participation. The statement says Wu was recruited by the “South Taihu Lake Elite Project.”
According to the press release, he returned from the US with $3 million after responding to the “South Taihu Lake Elite Project” in 2000. He founded R&D-focused Weihong Power System (Huzhou) Co., Ltd. in 2006.
Wu’s involvement might jeopardize Microvast’s 2021 funding.
According to its website, Microvast is an industry leader in lithium-ion battery research and development, design, and production. Microvast’s vertical integration skills span from the cathode and anode through the electrolyte and separator, making the company a leader in the battery industry.
Microvast’s portfolio of products spans many industry verticals because of the company’s vertical integration of the whole production process, from raw materials to system assembly. Microvast began operations in 2006 and now has offices in the Houston area of Texas.
