DOE Announces Funding to Boost Domestic Battery Manufacturing

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is earmarking $3.1 billion in funding from the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to boost battery and battery component manufacturing in America, department officials announced.

The infrastructure investments aim to support the creation of new, retrofitted and expanded commercial facilities as well as manufacturing demonstrations and battery recycling, the department said. A separate investment of $60 million will be used 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.

“Positioning the United States front and center in meeting the growing demand for advanced batteries is how we boost our competitiveness and electrify our transportation system,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “President Biden’s historic investment in battery production and recycling will give our domestic supply chain the jolt it needs to become more secure and less reliant on other nations—strengthening our clean energy economy, creating good-paying jobs, and decarbonizing the transportation sector.”

Both investments are components of the administration’s supply chain strategy to strengthen America’s energy independence and support the administration’s goal to have electric vehicles make up half of all vehicle sales in America by 2030, DOE officials said.