RPP BES-26-01, issued by the Defense Industrial Base Consortium on June 22, puts the first public numbers on domestic 18650/21700 production: 50 MWh annually within two years of award, 3 GWh as the objective. Before treating an award as a compliance signal, read the supply-chain terms against the statute.
The RPP objective is >95% of electrode active material by value from non-FEOC sources. The test in 10 U.S.C. §4865 is >95% of the cost of all functional cell components — separators, anode foils, solvents, additives, electrolyte salts, internal safety devices — plus production free of FEOC-licensed technology. The domestic base is thinnest in exactly those excluded categories. An awardee can clear the RPP objective and still fail §4865. The RPP threshold is weaker again: IRA domestic content only.
No offtake floor sits behind any of it. Award count and value track FY2027 appropriations, and on committed volume the Q&A points offerors at commercial demand.
AOI 1 thresholds vs. objectives — what a bid must clear, and what wins
| Parameter | Threshold | Objective |
|---|---|---|
| Annual production | 50 MWh (≤2 yrs post-award) | 3 GWh |
| 21700 gravimetric | 270 Wh/kg | 340 Wh/kg |
| Cycle life (½C/1C, 80% BOL) | 300 | 1,000 |
| Capacity at −20°C | 50% @ 1C | 80% @ 1C |
| Mfg. equipment, non-FEOC by value | 50% | 100% |
| Cell price | — | COTS parity by 2030 |
Silicon anode permitted; 21700-only bids accepted. Thresholds need not be demonstrated at proposal — planned prototype achievement is acceptable. Phase I quad charts closed July 17, 2026; Phase II invitations contingent on FY2027 appropriations, with CR risk acknowledged in the Q&A. Follow-on production under §4022(f) is permitted, not promised.