Biden gives $2.8 billion to boost US metal production for electric car batteries

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration said on Wednesday it will award $2.8 billion in grants to boost U.S. production of electric car batteries and the metals used to make them, as part of an effort to wean the country off supplies from China.

Albemarle Corp. (ALB.N) It is among 20 manufacturing and processing companies receiving grants from the U.S. Department of Energy to mine lithium, graphite, and nickel domestically, build the first large-scale lithium processing facility in the United States, establish facilities to build cathodes and other battery parts, and expand battery recycling.

The grants, which go to projects across at least 12 states, represent the latest push by the Biden administration to help reduce the country’s dependence on China and other countries for the building blocks of a green energy revolution.

“As the world transitions from fossil fuels to a clean energy economy, we cannot trade the dependence on oil from autocrats like (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to dependence on critical minerals from China,” a senior administration official told reporters about the program. .

The recipients of the funding, first reported by Reuters, were chosen by a White House steering committee and coordinated by the Department of Energy with support from the Department of the Interior.

The money is distributed to a range of companies, some of which can self-finance the projects and others that see grants as a financial lifeline for expanding their American plans. However, the funding does nothing to mitigate the permitting challenges some in the mining industry face.

Albemarle is set to receive $149.7 million to build a facility in North Carolina to process lithium-containing rock from a mine it is trying to reopen. That facility will then feed a separate plant somewhere in the southeastern United States, which the company said in June would produce as much lithium for electric car batteries as the entire company does today.

Albemarle, which also produces lithium in Australia and Chile, said the grant “increases the speed of lithium processing and reduces greenhouse gas emissions from long-distance transportation of ore minerals.”

Piedmont Lithium Corporation (PLL.O) It is receiving $141.7 million to build its own lithium processing facility in Tennessee, where the company will initially process the metal obtained from Quebec and Ghana. Piedmont’s plans to build a lithium mine in North Carolina faced strong opposition.

Piedmont shares rose 7.5 percent after Reuters reported that it had been granted funding earlier on Wednesday. Piedmont did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Talon Metals Company (TLO.TO) It will get $114.8 million to build a processing plant in North Dakota in a strategic turnaround for the company, which has a nickel supply deal with Tesla Inc. (TSLA.O). Talon now aims to extract the rocks from its planned underground mine in Minnesota and ship them to a processing facility in North Dakota which will be funded in part through the grant.

Talon said the grants are “a clear recognition that domestic production of nickel and other battery metals is a national priority.”

Other grants include $316.2 million for privately owned Ascend Elements to build a battery parts plant, $50 million to privately owned Lilac Solutions Inc for a pilot plant for so-called direct lithium extraction technologies, and $75 million for private Cirba Solutions for expansion. Battery recycling plant in Ohio, $219.8 million for Syrah Technologies LLC, a subsidiary of Syrah Resources Ltd (SYR.AX)to expand a graphite processing plant in Louisiana.

Biden’s goal

By 2030, President Joe Biden wants 50% of all new cars sold in the United States to be electric or hybrid electric models as well as 500,000 new electric vehicle charging stations. He did not support phasing out sales of new gasoline cars by 2030.

Legislation that Biden signed in August sets out strict new battery components and requirements for $7,500 consumer electric vehicle tax credits. A separate trillion-dollar infrastructure law signed in November 2021 allocates $7 billion to ensure US manufacturers have access to critical metals and other necessary components to manufacture batteries. Wednesday’s announcement was related to the 2021 law.

The White House said in a fact sheet that the United States and its allies are not producing enough critical minerals and materials used in electric vehicle batteries.

“China currently controls much of the critical mineral supply chain, and a lack of US mining, processing, and recycling capacity may hamper the development and adoption of electric vehicles, leaving the US dependent on unreliable foreign supply chains,” the White House said.

In March, Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to support the production and processing of minerals and materials used in electric car batteries.

The White House is also launching an effort, called the American Battery Materials Initiative, to strengthen critical mineral supply chains as automakers race to expand production of electric cars and batteries in the United States.

(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Ernest Scheider in Houston.) Additional reporting by Nandita Bose. Editing by Bernadette Bohm, Matthew Lewis and Paul Simao

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