KORE Power statement on inaccuracies in Free Beacon story

A story published on February 28, 2024, by the Free Beacon is riddled with inaccuracies about KORE Power, Inc. (KORE or the Company), the Company’s ownership, the loan from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO), and the beneficiaries of the KOREPlex lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility that the Company is building in Buckeye, Arizona.

To be clear, Do-Fluoride New Materials (DFD), holds no ownership interest in the Company, much less a controlling interest in KORE. KORE is an American company with a story of advancing energy storage that goes back more than 50 years. The Company’s headquarters are in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; and KORE has manufacturing facilities in Waterbury, Vermont and Buckeye, Arizona- where the KOREPlex is being built. KORE has dozens of investors both large and small. Do-Fluoride New

Energy (New Energy), a Chinese battery manufacturer, is a small minority shareholder in KORE, and very soon that investor’s equity stake will be less than 5%. This question was deeply vetted by the LPO over two years, and reducing the equity stake of Chinese shareholders has been a priority of KORE.

Further, the story’s reporting that New Energy was “enlisted” to “help build” the KOREPlex requires context. New Energy is not putting a single penny into the KOREPlex. KORE’s agreement to use New Energy technology will be a springboard that advances US-owned intellectual property. This is a one way agreement with no technology going back to China. Any IP created by KORE will be solely US owned.

The Free Beacon story misrepresents KORE’s use of a contract manufacturer in China. The Company’s reliance on that manufacturer is exactly why KORE is building its own facility in Arizona. On-shoring  lithium-ion battery production has always been KORE’s goal, because having a domestic battery supply is essential for our economy and our national security.

The Free Beacon story under-counts KORE’s staff by more than 45%. In the last two years, KORE’s Vermont team has grown by 300% and is on track to more than double again in the next 18 months. When it becomes operational, the KOREPlex will employ well over 1,000 Arizonans, while construction of the KOREPlex will create more than 700 jobs. The Free Beacon may think KORE is “small”, but the Company is doing big things, like advancing US energy independence and bringing manufacturing jobs home.

KORE’s employees are dedicated to their commitment to bring American innovation and hard work to delivering products that will modernize the transportation sector and strengthen the electric grid, supporting a domestic supply chain that keeps America moving and powers economic growth. KORE Solutions has been operating out of Vermont for more than 50 years, advancing reliability; and last night the KOREPlex site plan received a key approval in the City of Buckeye. We are moving forward.

In summary, KORE is a U.S. company hiring American workers to build U.S. products to benefit America. The $850M award from the LPO is a loan, not a grant. KORE will pay back the LPO loan, while simultaneously strengthening energy security, which American businesses and families depend on.