Oct. 19 (UPI) — The White House said Wednesday that President Joe Biden is awarding $2.8 billion in Energy Department grants from his bipartisan infrastructure law to 20 manufacturing and processing companies in 12 states.
The Biden Administration is also launching the “American Battery Materials Initiative,” described by the White House as a new effort to mobilize government to help industry create a reliable and sustainable supply of critical minerals for EV’s and electric power.
“Together, these actions will improve America’s energy independence, strengthen national security, support good-paying jobs across battery supply chains, and lower costs for working families,” the White House said in a statement.
“Producing advanced batteries and components here at home will accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels to meet the strong demand for electric vehicles, creating more good-paying jobs across the country,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.
These efforts are part of a strategic Biden administration plan to make half of all new vehicles sold in the United States in 2030 electric. According to the White House, EV sales have tripled since Biden has been in office.
“This market transformation is expected to increase demand for critical minerals such as lithium and graphite used in EV batteries.,” the White House statement said. “Today’s announcements demonstrate how the United States is poised to meet this challenge while growing our economy and creating high-quality union jobs in the battery supply chain.”
The White House touted Biden’s economic agenda efforts, asserting in a statement that those efforts have already “ignited a domestic manufacturing boom with companies announcing over $100 billion in EV, battery and EV charging investments here in the United States.”
In addition to the Energy Department grants and battery initiative, the White House said Wednesday that the Biden infrastructure law combined with the CHIPS & Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act will invest more than $135 billion to “build America’s electric vehicle future.”
