US announces $3 billion in funding for new battery projects

The US Department of Energy announced coming plans to dole retired much than $3 billion to complete 2 twelve artillery projects crossed 14 states. The money will spell toward processing captious minerals, building batteries and their components, and recycling batteries. It’s portion of nan Biden administration’s push for much home manufacturing to support its climate goals.

Batteries are an progressively basking commodity needed for electrical vehicles and to shop renewable power from star and upwind projects. New battery facilities are cropping up each complete nan US acknowledgment successful portion to national support successful nan shape of grants, loans, and taxation incentives.

The backing comes from nan Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed successful 2021. The 25 projects announced coming person been selected for awards, but will still request to spell done a speech process pinch nan Department of Energy (DOE) and complete an biology reappraisal to person immoderate money. The DOE predicts nan backing will create 12,000 jobs, 8,000 of which would beryllium successful construction.

Two projects chosen to perchance person nan largest sums of money are meant to nutrient lithium from brine, each tentatively earmarked to person up to $225 cardinal successful funding. A associated task betwixt Standard Lithium and Equinor successful Lewisville, Arkansas is expected to nutrient up to 45,000 metric tons per annum of battery-quality lithium carbonate complete 2 decades.

The 2nd project, led by TerraVolta Resources successful nan Texarkana region, is estimated to person nan capacity to nutrient 25,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate balanced each twelvemonth erstwhile it’s operating. That’s capable lithium for immoderate 500,000 EVs, according to nan DOE task description.

This is nan 2nd information of backing successful a programme led by nan DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC). The first information of funding, announced successful 2022, funneled $1.82 cardinal into 14 artillery worldly and manufacturing projects.

China still leads world artillery accumulation pinch astir 85 percent of nan world’s capacity to nutrient artillery cells. It besides processes much of nan captious minerals utilized successful batteries than immoderate different country. The Biden management precocious announced higher tariffs connected batteries and artillery parts from China, raising tariffs rates from 7.5 to 25 percent. And nan management system the EV taxation credit truthful that it only applies to vehicles pinch batteries manufactured successful nan US.