The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced plans to award $3 billion to 25 projects across 14 states to boost domestic battery manufacturing. This initiative is part of the Biden administration’s effort to shift the supply chain away from reliance on China, while expanding U.S. production of advanced batteries and battery materials.
The funding will support projects involved in battery-grade critical minerals processing, component manufacturing, battery production, and recycling. These projects are expected to generate $16 billion in total investment and create 12,000 jobs in production and construction, according to the DOE.
“Mineral security is essential for climate security,” said White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi. “This positions the U.S. to lead in the development of next-generation battery technologies – from solid-state batteries to new chemistries.”
Several key projects include:
- Albemarle will receive $67 million to produce commercial quantities of anode material for next-gen lithium-ion batteries in North Carolina.
- Honeywell will be awarded $126.6 million to build a commercial facility in Louisiana to produce a critical electrolyte salt for lithium batteries.
- Dow is set to receive $100 million to produce battery-grade carbonate solvents for lithium-ion battery electrolytes.
- Clarios Circular Solutions, in partnership with SK ON and Cosmo Chemical, will receive $150 million to recycle lithium-ion battery production scrap in South Carolina.
Most U.S. production scrap is currently exported for processing, primarily to China.
Additional notable projects include:
- SWA Lithium will receive $225 million to produce lithium carbonate using direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology.
- Revex Technologies, co-founded by Lundin Mining, is set to receive $145 million for three Michigan facilities to turn waste from the only U.S. primary nickel mine into nickel for 462,000 EV batteries annually.
- South32 Hermosa will be awarded $166 million for high-purity manganese sulfate monohydrate (HPMSM) mining in Patagonia, Arizona, which is critical for electric vehicle battery chemistries.
Further funding will go toward Element 25 for an HPMSM project in Louisiana, Group14 Technologies for silane manufacturing in Washington, and Birla Carbon for next-gen synthetic graphite production.
The DOE had previously awarded $1.82 billion to 14 projects. All selected projects will undergo negotiations and environmental reviews before final awards are granted.