Joe Biden invokes Defense Production Act for EV batteries and clean energy

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The Defense Production Act will be used by the Biden administration to increase the mining and processing of key minerals used in batteries for renewable energy and electric vehicles. According to the White House fact sheet, that could include nickel,lithium,cobalt,graphite, andmanganese.

The president is looking into the use of DPA in addition to minerals and materials to secure safer, cleaner, and more resilient energy for America, according to a fact sheet.

Biden made the announcement as part of a broader set of actions. The pivot away from Russian imports is part of it. It serves the Biden administration's long-term climate goals of cutting greenhouse gas emissions this decade and achieving a clean power grid by the year 2035.

The Defense Production Act allows the president to respond to a national emergency by requiring companies to prioritize federal contracts. The act was invoked by Biden to respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The act prioritized the production of materials for batteries that are essential for cleaning up two of the biggest sources of climate pollution: transportation and the power grid. Batteries made with nickel and Li-ion are used to store wind and solar energy.

Since the invasion of Ukraine, securing nickel has become a bigger problem. The US added nickel to its list of critical minerals. About 20 percent of the world's nickel supply comes from Russia. According to The Wall Street Journal, there is one high-grade nickel mine in Michigan that could run out of deposits in 25 years.

Some advocates are on alert for proposals to tap new deposits of nickel and other minerals that are critical for the nation's energy security and climate goals.

The clean energy transition cannot be built on dirty mining. Pagel said that expanding mining without addressing the weaknesses of our archaic mining laws would be disastrous. The Department of Interior announced in February that it plans to update mining laws that haven't changed much since the late 1800s.

Biden should use the Defense Production Act to promote technologies that support a transition to clean energy, according to some lawmakers and advocacy groups. More than 200 environmental and humanitarian groups sent a letter to Joe Biden on March 9th, asking him to invoke the Defense Production Act to boost the production and deployment of renewable energy technologies.

Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren, sent a letter to Biden on March 23rd suggesting the US harness the Defense Production Act to support and increase manufacturing capacity and supply chain security for technologies that reduce fossil fuel demand. The need for gas and oil to heat buildings could be reduced with the use of electric heat pumps. Russia's oil and gas imports have been banned by Biden. The EU plans to deploy 10 million heat pumps over the next five years in order to cut down on Russian gas imports.

Due to the humanitarian, energy, and economic crises caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, we urge you to use all the tools and authority at your disposal to provide relief to our residents and allies.

Before the war in Ukraine, clean energy advocates were already concerned about securing supply chains for metals and critical minerals. The batteries are built with the help of nickel, lithium, andcobalt. There are rare earth elements and aluminum in the wind turbine. Solar panels are made with copper, Silicon, and silver.

The problem is that the mining and processing of these materials are often concentrated in a few countries, including some where conflict and alleged human rights abuses have tainted supply chains. That added pressure on the Biden administration to shore up domestic supply chains, whether that is through mining or better recycling.

At least in the short term, Biden's actions boost oil and gas. After blocking Russian fossil fuel imports, Biden announced the largest ever release of oil from the US's Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The White House says that he is pushing for more domestic oil production. According to the fact sheet, Biden plans to ask Congress to make fossil fuel companies pay fees on wells that are not producing. The US has increased its exports of liquified natural gas to Europe as the EU tries to wean itself off of Russian energy products.

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