The shortage of battery materials is a serious bottleneck. It is undermining environmental goals and making consumers pay a huge price. Moreover, the tight supply seems to be with us for some time.
On April 1, US President Joe Biden has invoked the defense production act to encourage domestic production of key raw materials. This adds key battery minerals to the list of items covered by the 1950 defense production act, which allows the president to use emergency authorization to order certain products in large quantities or expand production capacity and supply.
Biden said: "The United States relies on unreliable foreign sources to obtain many strategic and key materials needed for the transformation of clean energy - such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and manganese for high-capacity batteries. As the world transitions to a clean energy economy, the demand for these materials is expected to multiply. In order to promote national defense, the United States must ensure a reliable and sustainable supply of such strategic and key materials. The United States should, in line with promoting national defense, Through environmentally responsible domestic mining and processing; Recycling and reuse; And recycling from unconventional and secondary sources, such as mine waste, to ensure the supply of such materials. "
A source told CNN that the White House would work closely with the Department of energy and the Department of the interior to implement the president's decision, adding that any action would "never" bypass the licensing or environmental review procedures for mining these minerals.
It doesn't sound like considering any real radical action. According to the source, the government does not intend to provide loans or purchase key minerals directly, but to fund feasibility studies, the production of by-products and by-products in the current business, and the modernization of productivity and safety.
Biden and his predecessor trump both cited the defense production act during the covid-19 crisis.
"Today, lithium and nickel are the most important materials in electric vehicle batteries. Most of the world's production of these metals has been reserved by battery manufacturers and automobile companies in the first half of this decade. The future of electric vehicles tomorrow will depend on batteries using more earth rich materials such as iron and efficient supply chains," said Dr. Hu Qichao, CEO of battery manufacturer SES.
