The Financial Post reports in its Thursday edition that the U.S. government plans to provide a $754-million (U.S.) loan to construct a synthetic graphite plant in Tennessee to Novonix Ltd. The Post's Gabriel Friedman writes that Novonix's chief executive officer, Chris Burns, is based in Halifax, where the company maintains its research labs, though it is publicly listed in Australia. The loan is just one example of how U.S. President Joe Biden's focus on building out a North American critical minerals supply chain has often accrued to the benefit of Canadian-based companies, many of which have struggled to raise money on public markets in the face of moribund commodity prices. Experts say Mr. Biden is "incentivized" to get as much money out the door as possible. Many other critical minerals companies besides Novonix, which has ambitions to be a major player in the battery sector, have received commitments of various forms from U.S. government agencies during the past few years, sometimes even for projects located in Canada. Toronto-based Electra Battery Materials in August said it had received a $20-million (U.S.) grant to help build a cobalt refinery in Ontario.