The proportion continues to decline, the United States is losing in the battery race

According to foreign media reports, in the global battery race, the United States not only lost the battle, but barely participated in the competition.

Currently, China is leading the global production of lithium batteries and is building factories at an alarming rate. Europe is also increasing the number of battery factories, and the current grid and auto companies in the region are shifting from fossil fuels to electric technology. Although some companies plan to build factories in the United States, such as Tesla's Texas plant, Bloomberg NEF predicts that by 2025, the United States' share of global battery production will drop from the current 8% to 6%. .

However, in fact, the United States has most of the elements required by the battery manufacturing industry. First, the United States has raw materials. Currently, three companies are developing facilities to extract lithium from underground brine in the Southern California desert, while Arkansas and Nevada are also conducting similar projects. Secondly, the United States also has a demand for batteries. Utilities are connecting large batteries to the grid to store renewable electricity and prevent power outages. And American automakers are also increasing the production of electric vehicles.

During the Obama administration, the US government promoted the construction of domestic battery factories. However, the market's demand for these equipment is not enough to support the operation of these factories, which led to the embarrassing failure of this effort. For example, in 2012, a manufacturer named A123 Systems still declared bankruptcy after receiving a federal grant of US$249 million. . However, this situation has now changed.

Cairn Energy Research Advisors, a consulting company based in Boulder, Colorado, said: “If we want to establish a domestic battery supply chain in North America, we have It’s when you have to press the accelerator. The conversation should revolve around'mine-to-car', not just'battery-to-car'.'

Lithium batteries have become a basic technology in the 21st century and have played a key role, so that in 2018, the US government included lithium in 35 minerals that are vital to national security. In the list. Danny Kennedy, Chief Energy Officer of New Energy Nexus, a clean technology non-profit organization, said: “As the world’s largest economy, the United States does not participate in it. It’s incredible. If we participate now, we have the potential to become champions in the future. Will give it to others.” The organization recently released a report on the possibility of establishing a domestic battery industry.

For American automakers, they very much hope to produce batteries locally. In an era of trade turmoil, reliance on imported batteries remains a problem, although the new president Biden abolished the former president’s tariff method. As global car companies begin to transition to electrification, Detroit needs a sufficient supply of batteries to maintain car prices at a low level.

In addition, the electric vehicle battery pack is large and heavy, so its transportation cost is very high. For example, the battery pack of a Chevrolet Bolt compact car weighs about 950 pounds (about 430 kg). And if these batteries come from factories in the United States, you can reduce transportation costs. Brett Smith, technical director of the Center for Automotive Research, said: “Imagine transporting millions of battery packs from Asia. It’s a nightmare. In this case, it’s more important to produce batteries locally. It's logical.'

In addition to the battery factory built by GM and LG Chem in Ohio, and the two factories that SK Innovation will build in Georgia, there are many battery start-ups in the United States that are about to be mass-produced. Solid Power Inc., a Colorado-based battery manufacturer, is expected to start supporting car production as early as the end of 2025. The company’s CEO Doug Campbell said that the United States has proven its ability to innovate. He said: 'However, the risk we face is: Can these innovations stay in our country? Will we follow the old path of solar cells?'