Investing more than 7 billion US dollars, the United States actively builds a battery supply chain

According to the White House press release, Biden said recently that he will bring back the two major industries of manufacturing and industry for the United States in the future: mainly semiconductors and clean energy. He also announced the launch of the U.S. Battery Materials Initiative, which will coordinate the federal government to work closely with the private sector, labor unions, community organizations, and partners and allies abroad to actively build the U.S. battery supply chain.

Demand for batteries and key minerals used in batteries continues to grow as electric vehicle sales increase. Biden said demand for key materials will skyrocket 600% in the coming decades, with demand for minerals such as lithium and graphite expected to increase by 4,000%. That's why the Infrastructure Act is investing more than $7 billion in the battery supply chain, which will strengthen U.S. capacity to process, manufacture and recycle key minerals like lithium, nickel and graphite.

Under the measures to build a local battery industry chain in the United States, Israel Chemical Group (ICL) simultaneously announced that it will invest 400 million US dollars to build the first large-scale lithium iron phosphate (LFP) material cathode active material (CAM) plant in the United States. The plant is expected to be located in St. Louis, Missouri's largest metropolitan area, and will receive $197 million in grants through the U.S. Infrastructure Act.

The intention of the US move is obvious, that is, to compete for the battery market. According to SNE Research data, in the first half of 2022, in terms of installed capacity, CATL increased by 111% year-on-year, and continued to occupy the first place in the world with 69 GWh; South Korea's LG New Energy ranked second with 28 GWh, but the increase The speed has slowed down significantly, with a year-on-year growth of only 4%, which is far from the Ningde era; BYD replaced Japan's Panasonic and ranked third with an installed capacity of 24 GWh, a year-on-year increase of 206%. These three companies together account for 70% of the overall global market share. At present, the US battery market still has a certain gap compared with China.