The investment in electric vehicles (EV) has increased demand for lithium, graphite and other minerals used in EV batteries. For this reason, the Department of Energy is awarding $2.8 billion in grants from the bipartisan infrastructure law to 20 manufacturing and processing companies across 12 states to process these materials.
The funding will support initiatives such as developing enough battery-grade lithium to supply approximately 2 million EVs annually and installing a large-scale commercial lithium electrolyte salt production facility in the U.S. Among other initiatives, the funding will also go toward developing an electrode binder facility capable of supplying 45% of the anticipated domestic demand for binders for EV batteries in 2030, according to the White House.
Additionally, President Biden introduced the American Battery Materials Initiative. This is a new effort to secure a reliable and sustainable supply of minerals used for power, electricity and EVs.
These actions are an attempt to improve energy independence in the U.S. and support jobs across battery supply chains.
“The American Battery Materials Initiative will align and leverage federal resources for growing the end-to-end battery supply chain; work with stakeholders, allies and partners to develop more sustainable, secure, resilient supply chains; and support faster and fairer permitting for projects that build the domestic supply chain,” said a statement from the White House.
The Biden Administration set a goal to make half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 electric.
