Issues

The domestic battery supply chain is at a tipping point. Investments and policies today will have a lasting impact on the future of this industry. This supply chain is currently dominated by China through unfair trade practices, large investments with state-sponsored control, and price-fixing behavior. These actions expose the U.S. to economic and national security vulnerabilities.

While the U.S. has been able to make advancements in recent years to develop a domestic battery materials market, there is still significant work to enable a future domestic battery materials supply chain. We believe that the current policies fall short of where they need to be to fully realize that future.

The enacted legislation – IRA Sections 30D, 45X, 45W, USTR Section 301 tariff schedule, etc. – fails to incentivize the upstream domestic battery materials supply chain. Current incentives are skewed toward cell and module production. In addition, they do not sufficiently restrict foreign entities of concern from qualifying for U.S. taxpayer-funded incentives.

The BATT Coalition recognizes this long-term challenge, but pressing these policy issues today will make a significant impact on market success.