The Department of Energy is awarding $2.8 billion in grants to twenty corporations throughout the US that may promote the manufacturing of supplies to make EV batteries domestically, the Biden administration announced today. The funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and it will be a part of a brand new “American Battery Materials Initiative,” which goals to safe a provide of minerals for EVs and electrical infrastructure (probably issues like house batteries). Given that the Biden administration desires to make EVs half of recent US automobile purchases by 2030, we’ll want a critical increase in battery manufacturing earlier than then.

“The U.S. and its allies currently do not produce enough of the critical minerals and battery materials needed to power clean energy technologies,” the Biden admin wrote in a briefing. “China currently controls much of the critical mineral supply chain and the lack of mining, processing, and recycling capacity in the U.S. could hinder electric vehicle development and adoption, leaving the U.S. dependent on unreliable foreign supply chains.”

The new funding will assist initiatives that intention to develop sufficient battery-grade lithium to construct 2 million EVs yearly, in addition to sufficient graphite and nickel to supply 1.2 million and 400,000 EVs yearly. It’ll additionally allow some groundbreaking endeavors, like constructing the primary lithium iron phosphate cathode facility, in addition to the primary large-scale lithium electrolyte salt manufacturing facility, within the US. 

After being matched by recipients, the Biden admin says the $2.8 million grants will result in an funding of greater than $9 billion in the direction of constructing EV batteries. Car makers may even want extra native provide sources in the event that they need to construct EVs that take full benefit of the Biden admin’s new $7,500 tax credit score, which require batteries and minerals produced within the US.