The Secretary shall establish a program to provide guarantees of loans by private institutions for the construction of facilities for the manufacture of advanced vehicle batteries and battery systems that are developed and produced in the United States, including advanced lithium ion batteries and hybrid electrical system and component manufacturers and software designers.
A loan guaranteed under subsection (a) shall have a maturity of not more than 20 years.
The loan agreement for a loan guaranteed under subsection (a) shall provide that no provision of the loan agreement may be amended or waived without the consent of the Secretary.
The full faith and credit of the United States is pledged to the payment of all guarantees made under this section. Any such guarantee made by the Secretary shall be conclusive evidence of the eligibility of the loan for the guarantee with respect to principal and interest. The validity of the guarantee shall be incontestable in the hands of a holder of the guaranteed loan.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.
The authority of the Secretary to issue a loan guarantee under subsection (a) terminates on the date that is 10 years after December 19, 2007.