The Biden Administration has announced that it is awarding $2.8 billion in grants to boost U.S production of electric vehicle batteries and the minerals used to build them. This is in an attempt to decrease reliability on supplies from China.
“By undercutting U.S. manufacturers with their unfair subsidies and trade practices, China seized a significant portion of the market,” President Joe Biden said Wednesday in announcing the awards. “Today we’re stepping up… to take it back, not all of it, but bold goals.”
It predicted that the grants are going to projects across at least 12 states and Albemarle Corp is one of the manufacturing and processing companies receiving U.S Energy Department grants.
This will be used to domestically mine lithium, graphite and nickel and build the first large-scale U.S lithium processing facility to build cathodes and other battery parts and expand recycling facilities.
The grants mark the latest push by the government to reduce dependence on China and other nations.
By 2030, Biden aims to have all 50% of all new vehicles sold in the U.S to be electric or plug in hybrid electric models along with 500,000 new EV charging stations.
Legislation tied to the program sets new strict battery component and sourcing requirements for $7,500 consumer EV tax credits.
“China currently controls much of the critical mineral supply chain and the lack of mining, processing, and recycling capacity in the U.S. could hinder electric vehicle development and adoption, leaving the U.S. dependent on unreliable foreign supply chains.” said the Whitehouse.
A separate $1 trillion infrastructure law signed in November 2021 allocates $7 billion to ensure U.S manufacturers can access critical minerals and other components to manufacture the batteries.
