WASHINGTON -- The Biden administration is awarding over $3 billion to U.S.companies to boost domestic production of advanced batteries and other materials used for electric vehicles, part of a continuing push to reduce China’s global dominance in battery production for EVs and other electronics.The grants will fund a total of 25 projects in 14 states, including battleground states such as Michigan and North Carolina, as well as Ohio, Texas, South Carolina and Louisiana.The grants announced Friday mark the second round of EV battery funding under the bipartisan infrastructure law approved in 2021.
An earlier round allocated $1.8 billion for 14 projects that are ongoing.The totals are down from amounts officials announced in October 2022 and reflect a number of projects that were withdrawn or rejected by U.S.
officials during sometimes lengthy negotiations.The money is part of a larger effort by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to boost production and sales of electric vehicles as a key element of their strategy to slow climate change and build up U.S.manufacturing.
Companies receiving awards process lithium, graphite or other battery materials, or manufacture components used in EV batteries.“Today’s awards move us closer to achieving the administration’s goal of building an end-to-end supply chain for batteries and critical minerals here in America, from mining to processing to manufacturing and recycling, which is vital to reduce China’s dominance of this critical sector,'' White House economic adviser Lael Brainard said.The Biden-Harris administration is "committed to making batteries in the United States that are going to be vital for powering our grid, our homes and businesses and America’s iconic auto industry,'' Brainard told reporters Thursday during a White House call.The awards announced Friday bring to nearly $35 billion total U.S.investments to bolster domestic critical minerals and battery supply chains, Brainard said, ...