US announces $3.16 billion to make electric vehicle batteries

The United States government announced that it will allocate US$ 3,160 million to support the process of manufacturing and recycling batteries for electric vehicles to meet the goal of President Joe Biden, that more than half of the cars sold are electric in the world. 2030.

In a call with reporters, Biden’s adviser for infrastructure coordination, Mitch Landrieu, explained that this $3.16 billion comes from the infrastructure law that the US Congress passed last year with both Democratic and Republican support.

The president’s climate adviser, Gina McCarthy, who also participated in the call, clarified that the money will be used to process materials for the manufacture of batteries, but not to extract new minerals.

“We need a lot of batteries and we want American workers to make them here on American soil,” McCarthy said.

The US$3.16 billion will be awarded in the form of grants to between 16 and 30 companies in the sector, according to White House estimates, depending on the number and quality of projects submitted.

In August of last year, Biden made the electrification of the automobile sector a matter of state by announcing measures with which he seeks to transform this industry, but also defeat China and return the country to leadership in the sector.

In an event attended by the leaders of the three largest automakers in the country (General Motors, Ford and Stellantis), as well as prominent congressmen, union leaders and environmental organizations, Biden signed an executive order on the White House lawn with which he seeks that by 2030 half of the cars sold in the country are electric vehicles.

And although the document signed by Biden does not impose any obligation on the automakers, the Big Three of Detroit, as GM, Ford and Stellantis are known, expressed their support for the measures announced by the White House.

Biden insisted on that occasion that the country is “in a competition with China, and many other nations, for the 21st century” and to win it is necessary to ensure that “the future is made in the United States.”

And he added a warning that he has already made on other occasions: “The future of the automobile sector is electric, and there is no turning back.”

Currently, less than 2% of all cars sold in the country are electric, which puts the United States at number 20 in the world rankings. Meanwhile, China doubles the United States in the number of these vehicles and the growth rate of its domestic market is double that of the country.