The Biden administration is gone through with the new $2.8 billion in grants boosting US electric vehicle battery production in a significant manner. The goal of this investment is to ensure that the USA can continue to produce batteries while outbidding countries like China which are dominating the market.
The grants will help that across 12 states and assist with the push by the Biden administration to reduce the dependence on fossil fuel. As the world continues to transition from fossil fuels, these types of investments will need to continue to meet carbon goals for 2050. Many American automakers have committed to making all-electric vehicles by the 2015 deadline and this means that we have to put in the groundwork now.
The funding recipients were hand-picked by the White House and coordinated by the Department of Energy with support from the Interior Department. Some of the largest recipients is Albermarle receiving $149.7 million to build a new facility in North Carolina for easy production. The goal of the company is to have separate plants across the US Southeast that could produce lithium batteries for future EVs.
Piedmont Lithium Incorporated is also receiving an investment of $141.7 million to produce eight lithium processing facilities in Tennessee. The company is currently sourcing metal from Ghana and Québec and with the mining facilities it runs in North Carolina it could become much more self-sufficient.
Talon Metals Corporation will also receive $114.8 million to build a processing plant in North Dakota to shift the strategy of the company and its nickel supply towards EV battery supply.
A second element is also receiving $316.2 million to build a new battery parts plant.
These new forms of funding could bolster battery production in the US and improve negotiations for battery export across the US economy.
This post was written by Justin Tidd, Director at Becker/SMC. For nearly half a century, Becker Mining has been at the forefront of industry safety. Becker/SMC is the industry’s leader in increasingly more sophisticated electrical control systems. Most of the major innovations, design features, and specialized electrical components have been developed by Becker/SMC. Click here to learn more!
