"interest rates are set based on the U.S. Treasury curve at the day or days the funds are drawn, according to the tenor of the loan, plus a liquidity spread equal to “three-eighths” (0.375%), plus a Risk-Based Charge. The risk-based charge is intended to make DOE’s charges closer, but not equal, to commercial markets by increasing the interest rate as the credit risk of the project increases."
Also, cursory look shows the situation for Eos is questionable, at least from my view.
"Eos reported a second-quarter loss of $131.6 million on revenue of only $200,000 (???:emphasis mine, see commitments below) and a $23.2 million cash balance as of June 30. It has raised about $90 million in capital so far this year and can raise as much as $84.4 million more through existing agreements with investors."
"The company reported booked orders of $86.9 million"
"Eos also claimed a backlog of $535 million in pending projects under binding commitments with customers and another $1.5 billion in firm commitments with letters of intent signed with project developers."
The funding was 1. significant ($400 MM), 2. coming from the Department of Energy. The DoE has a lot of scientists who know everything there is to know about energy (well, also about nuclear weapons). In the space of new battery tech, you read almost on a daily basis about some new breakthrough technology. It's hard to decide what has a chance and what doesn't. We've all gotten jaded by the infinite number of claims of battery tech revolutions, that never turned into anything. The fact that the DoE invests $400 MM in this technology is, in my opinion, quite some validation. And that's news.
Zinc-air batteries as an alternative to lithium-ion: study - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37435215 - Sept 2023 (120 comments)