The Biden Administration announced that they would begin a $3.1 billion plan to boost the domestic production of electric vehicle batteries.
The Biden Administration announced on Monday that it would begin a $3 billion plan to boost the domestic production of EV batteries, in line with their efforts to speed up the adoption of electric vehicles.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the funding will be given as cost-sharing grants to companies that can create new, retrofitted or expanded processing facilities and manufacturing demonstrations and battery recycling. The grants will be funded through Pres. Biden’s $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law includes more than $7 billion to improve the country’s battery supply chain.
White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy said on Monday during a call with reporters, “These made-in-America batteries are going to help reduce emissions and create opportunities across the country,”
The move comes after President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act last April to encourage the domestic production of Minerals which are required for the production of EV batteries. That will help companies receive government funding for feasibility studies on projects that extract minerals necessary for EV production, such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and manganese.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said in a statement, “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,” currently, the U.S. is the world’s third-largest market for EVs after China and Europe.
