Biden administration pours billions into lithium-ion batteries

The US Department of Energy (DOE) ramped up the efforts to improve the local electric vehicle (EV) battery industry by announcing a $3.16 billion investment. 

According to government officials, the budget will be allocated to increase local lithium-ion battery production and create a sustainable domestic supply of critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite. 

The DEO will support battery manufacturing, processing and recycling with $3.16 billion under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which supplies more than $7.5 billion to strengthen the US supply chain. 

$3.1 billion from the budget will help companies enhance their facilities for material processing, producing EV batteries and recycling. $60 million is spared to discover second uses of used batteries. 

National commitment to electrification

With the move, the US has again displayed its aim to become more independent on energy and critical materials as the war in Ukraine is disrupting global oil prices and supply chains. 

DOE last year stated that the local production capacity is not enough to meet half of the lithium-ion battery demand by 2028. DEO also announced a "national blueprint for lithium batteries," aimed to boost efforts to build a domestic lithium-battery supply chain and provide employment in clean energy. 

The Biden administration plans to have half of all vehicle sales electric by 2030. 

Biden previously set a goal of having electric vehicles make up over half of all vehicle sales by 2030. The budget included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law supports the development of charging infrastructure, electric transit and school buses. 

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