---
title: "DIBC's Cylindrical Cell RPP Asks Less Than §4865 Requires"
canonical: "https://anchor.is/the-hysteresis/issue/8/defense/article/33751/dibcs-cylindrical-cell-rpp-asks-less-than-4865"
publication: "The Hysteresis"
publisher: "The Hysteresis"
language: "en-US"
guide: "https://anchor.is/the-hysteresis/llms.txt"
author: "Ronan Adike"
author_url: "https://anchor.is/the-hysteresis/team/74"
issue: 8
section: "defense"
section_name: "Defense"
published: 2026-07-31
updated: 2026-08-01
word_count: 294
source_links: 3
---

# DIBC's Cylindrical Cell RPP Asks Less Than §4865 Requires

*By [Ronan Adike](<https://anchor.is/the-hysteresis/team/74/markdown>)*

*July 31, 2026*

[Read on the website](<https://anchor.is/the-hysteresis/issue/8/defense/article/33751/dibcs-cylindrical-cell-rpp-asks-less-than-4865>)

[RPP BES-26-01](https://www.dibconsortium.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/P07-DIBC-BES-26-01_Batteries-RPP.pdf), 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](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=%28title%3A10+section%3A4865+edition%3Aprelim%29) 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](https://www.dibconsortium.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/RPP-BES-26-01-QA.pdf). Follow-on production under §4022(f) is permitted, not promised.*

## More

- [Defense — Issue 8](<https://anchor.is/the-hysteresis/issue/8/defense/markdown>)
- [Issue 8](<https://anchor.is/the-hysteresis/issue/8/markdown>)
- [Publication guide](<https://anchor.is/the-hysteresis/llms.txt>)