Biden administration awards $2.8 billion in grants for electric vehicle battery manufacturing

Workers marry the body structure with the battery pack and the front and rear sub frames as they assemble electric vehicles at the Lucid Motors plant in Casa Grande, Arizona, September 28, 2021.

The president announced grants for 20 companies to make batteries for electric vehicles.

The grants are being given by the Department of Energy with funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The funds will be used to create battery-grade materials.

The Biden administration wants to increase manufacturing capacity in the United States. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act allocated a lot of money towards electric vehicle manufacturing. Half of all new vehicles produced in the U.S. will be electric by the year 2030.

Biden said that the Infrastructure Law invests in companies that are going to build electric vehicles and advanced batteries. 75% of the battery manufacturing for electric vehicles is done in China and this is important because the future of vehicles is electric.

The push is dependent on competing with China. Biden said that China controls half of global production for some of the materials used to make these batteries.

Biden said that China's battery technology is not innovative. By undercutting US manufacturers with their unfair subsidies and trade practices, China seized a significant part of the market.

One of the most significant economic transitions since the Industrial Revolution is happening in the United States, according to Biden.

The White House says that Biden created the American battery manufacturing initiative which will allow for a full government approach to produce batteries for uses ranging from electric vehicles and homes to defense purposes. More batteries and critical battery components will be created in the U.S. as a result of the move.