LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The same day that President Biden announced tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), the U.S. Department of Energy announced that $2.8 billion in funding would go towards developing electric vehicle battery production – though Michigan would see none of it.
Michigan is the forerunner in auto production in the U.S. and has recently made a push to produce more EV vehicles to accommodate the growing demand across the county.
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The funding would support Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Tennessee, and Washington. The majority of the recipients are southeastern states which have recently been given the name “Battery Belt.”
The selected projects will include production of an electrode binder that can supply what is estimated to be half of anticipated U.S. demand for EV batteries through 2030; a lithium processing facility in North Carolina; and the first lithium iron phosphate cathode facility in the U.S.
Companies selected are required to match or exceed the federal funding, totaling $9 billion in investment in the battery supply chain between the private sector and federal dollars.
The decision would increase jobs in the U.S. – Administration officials predict the investments will create 3,000 temporary jobs and 5,000 permanent jobs – and make the U.S. more competitive in the global EV battery market according to Biden.
“China’s battery technology is not more innovative than anyone else’s,” Biden said. “In fact, our national labs, our research universities, our automakers led the development of this technology here in America, but by undercutting US manufacturers with their unfair subsidies and trade practices, China seized a significant part of the market.”
Biden said the United States is experiencing “one of the most significant economic transitions since the Industrial Revolution.”
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Last January, GM received a historic $7 billion investment from the governor to create more jobs and make a greater shift towards electronic vehicle production. In August Ford eliminated roughly 3,000 jobs between salaried and contract positions mostly in Detroit, partially in an effort to cut costs and become more competitive in EV manufacturing.
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