DOE to invest $3B to strengthen advanced batteries supply chain

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued two notices of intent to provide $2.91 billion to boost production of advanced batteries that are critical to rapidly growing clean energy industries, including electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage, as directed by the infrastructure law.

The department intends to fund battery materials refining and production plants, battery cell and pack manufacturing facilities and recycling facilities that create good-paying clean energy jobs. The funding is expected to be made available in the coming months and will ensure the United States can produce batteries, as well as the materials that go into them, to increase economic competitiveness, energy independence and national security.

In June 2021, the DOE published a 100-day review of the large-capacity battery supply chain, pursuant to Executive Order 14017, America’s Supply Chains. The review recommended establishing domestic production and processing capabilities for critical materials to support a fully domestic end-to-end battery supply chain. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act allocates nearly $7 billion to strengthen the U.S. battery supply chain, which includes producing and recycling critical minerals without new extraction or mining and sourcing materials for domestic manufacturing.

“As electric cars and trucks continue to grow in popularity within the United States and around the world, we must seize the chance to make advanced batteries—the heart of this growing industry—right here at home,” says U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “With funding from bipartisan infrastructure law, we’re making it possible to establish a thriving battery supply chain in the United States.”

With the global lithium-ion battery market expected to grow rapidly over the next decade, DOE says it hopes to make it possible for the U.S. to be prepared for market demand. Responsible and sustainable domestic sourcing of the critical materials used to make lithium-ion batteries—lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite—will help close the gap in supply chain disruptions and accelerate battery production in America.

Funding from the infrastructure law will allow DOE to support the creation of new, retrofitted, and expanded domestic facilities for battery recycling and the production of battery materials, cell components and battery manufacturing. The funding will also support research, development and demonstration of second-life applications for batteries once used to power EVs, as well as new processes for recycling, reclaiming and adding materials back into the battery supply chain.