Biden Tips $2.8 Billion for Domestic Battery Production

pcmag.com:

President Biden today announced $2.8 billion in grants to support domestic battery manufacturing as part of his administration's goal to have electric vehicles make up half of all new vehicles sold in the US by 2030.

The funding will support two facets of battery production:

Mining and processing "critical minerals" like lithium and graphite under the new American Battery Materials Initiative.

Battery manufacturing and assembly

The move comes amid pushback from foreign(Opens in a new window) and domestic automakers over the requirements to have their EVs qualify for a $7,500 tax credit put in place as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

For vehicles to qualify, the automaker must assemble the car and battery in the US, as well as mine a certain percentage of the minerals inside the battery domestically. These are big hurdles given the nascent battery and minerals industry in the US, leaving some companies scrambling to qualify their vehicles(Opens in a new window) to stimulate sales.

"China currently controls much of the critical mineral supply chain and the lack of mining, processing, and recycling capacity in the US could hinder electric vehicle development and adoption, leaving the US dependent on unreliable foreign supply chains," the White House says(Opens in a new window).

Bolstering US production aims to "improve America’s energy independence, strengthen national security, support good-paying jobs across battery supply chains, and lower costs for working families," the White House adds.

Hopefully, it also means a greater chance your next EV purchase will qualify for the credit, but it will take a few years to construct new facilities. By the numbers, the funding will be enough for:

Twenty manufacturing and