The Biden administration will provide $2.8 billion in grants for battery manufacturing projects in the US. In addition , the grant funds will also be used to encourage domestic production of key minerals for electric vehicle batteries .
The grant will enable manufacturing and processing companies in the US to extract and process more key minerals for electric vehicle batteries such as lithium, graphite, nickel and others.
The grant is expected to help shift the US from cars with internal combustion engines to electric vehicles.
“Producing advanced batteries and components domestically will accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to meeting the strong demand for electric vehicles, creating more well-paying jobs across the country,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.
The grant-backed projects are expected to support the development of enough lithium for 2 million electric vehicles per year, develop graphite for about 1.2 million electric vehicles per year and produce nickel to supply 400,000 electric vehicles per year, according to the Department of Energy.
The grant will also be used to fund the first large-scale commercial lithium electrolyte salt production facility in the US and develop an electrode bonding facility.
Earlier this year, Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to increase U.S. mineral production to produce batteries for EVs and long-term energy storage, and to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign supply chains.
