The Biden administration pledges to spend more than US$3Bn to support the domestic manufacturing of batteries used in EVs and energy storage in its latest commitment to building a robust US supply chain. 

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced US$3.1Bn in funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to make more batteries and components in the USA, bolster domestic supply chains, create good-paying jobs, and help lower costs for families.

The infrastructure investments will support the creation of new, retrofitted, and expanded commercial facilities as well as manufacturing demonstrations and battery recycling.  The DOE is also announcing a separate US$60M to support second-life applications for batteries once used to power EVs, as well as new processes for recycling materials back into the battery supply chain.

The announcement is the latest in a series of policy announcements from the Biden administration around EVs, lithium-ion batteries and critical materials more generally.  The Government’s intention is that EVs comprise half of all new US car sales by 2030.  In June 2021, a National Blueprint for Lithium Batteries was developed by the Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries, to help guide investments to develop a domestic US lithium-battery manufacturing value chain, while supporting the Biden Administration’s decarbonisation goals.  And in April, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to give the government more avenues to provide support for the mining, processing, and recycling of critical materials.