The United States is investing $US3.1 billion into domestic electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing in an effort to scale up local battery and component manufacturing.
Announced on Monday, the US Department of Energy committed the funds ($A4.37 billion) from President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to make more batteries and components in America while bolstering domestic supply chains.
“Positioning the United States front and center in meeting the growing demand for advanced batteries is how we boost our competitiveness and electrify our transportation system,” said Jennifer M. Granholm, the US Secretary of Energy.
“President Biden’s historic investment in battery production and recycling will give our domestic supply chain the jolt it needs to become more secure and less reliant on other nations – strengthening our clean energy economy, creating good paying jobs, and decarbonizing the transportation sector.”
The new investments will support the creation of new, retrofitted, and expanded commercial facilities as well as manufacturing demonstrations and battery recycling.
The Department of Energy also announced a separate $60 million to support second-life applications for batteries once they have served their purpose as an EV battery, as well as new processes for recycling materials back into the battery supply chain.
Both funding streams are being framed in the typical Biden-esque way as not only supporting America’s green transition, but also as a means to create more good-paying jobs and as part of Biden’s “whole-of-government” supply chain strategy aimed at strengthening America’s energy independence.
More importantly, the funding is also a big step in achieving President Biden’s goal of seeing electric vehicles make up half of all American vehicle sales by 2030.
The Biden Administration has faced an uphill battle ever since taking office at the beginning of 2021, with a 50/50 split in the Senate – and two obstreperous Democratic Senators, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema – making the passage of Biden’s policies a nightmarish effort.
Both Manchin and Sinema – acting very much as Democrats in name only, given their otherwise Republican-favoured states – are working in concert with the American fossil fuel industry and conservative groups to hamper much of Biden’s agenda, including his clean energy goals.
Nevertheless, the new $US3.1 billion for EV battery production will come from the Biden Administration’s massive $US1 trillion-plus infrastructure bill which it was able to pass last year, and which included $US7.5 billion for electric transit vehicles and another $US7.5 billion for EV charging infrastructure.
Given America’s increasing demand for EVs – with more than 2.5 million plug-in EVs sold in America so far, including more than 800,000 which have been sold since President Biden took office – and the twisting needs of American politics at the moment, building up a homegrown manufacturing base from which to meet EV demand has been critical for Democrats.
“For too long, other countries have been outpacing the United States in funding new technologies,” said Debbie Stabenow, the Democratic Senator for Michigan.
“We are at a critical moment in our competition to build the next generation of electric vehicles and batteries here in America and to secure Michigan’s automotive leadership in these next generation vehicles.
“Thanks to our bipartisan efforts in Congress, and with the President’s leadership, this funding will help us win this race by investing in our supply chain and manufacturing here at home. Our workers are the best in the world, and there’s nothing more American than ensuring that our products and technology are built in America.”
Amongst the programs to be funded are Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing, the Electric Drive Vehicle Battery Recycling and Second Life Applications, and the National Blueprint for Lithium Batteries.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.