BATT Urges Tax Changes to Loosen China’s Grip on Critical Supply Chain
The BATT Coalition’s growing membership is appealing to congressional leaders to swiftly enact tax reforms that protect the domestic battery supply chain from Chinese market manipulation and close loopholes that hamper national efforts to build a sustainable domestic production capacity.
“This is a critical area for U.S. energy dominance and innovation, as well as presents an urgent national security imperative to establish a strong supply chain free of Chinese influence,” BATT leaders wrote in a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and their Democratic counterparts, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. “Maintaining the status quo with tax policy will only serve to accelerate the Chinese market dominance for battery materials.”
BATT, which has more than doubled in membership since it was founded in August 2024, serves as the collective voice of foremost innovators across the battery supply chain — from upstream producers of raw materials such as lithium, to makers of state-of-the-art battery components and battery recycling.
“The U.S. has some of the best resources to produce lithium in the world, but China’s market interfering behavior and our lack of adequate incentives and protection from these practices have left us without the ability to capitalize on that advantage,” BATT Executive Director Samm Gillard and Policy Director Drew Ronneberg wrote in the letter. “Congress must act to remedy this imbalance, unleash American energy innovation, and protect our national security interests.”
As it pursues its aggressive policy agenda for 2025, BATT has added eight new members to sharpen the policy proposals that will help ensure the United States builds a resilient supply chain for defense systems, energy storage, transportation, and other applications.
Specifically, BATT has outlined the need to amend the Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit (45X) and the Qualified Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit (45W) to include the stricter sourcing requirements that are contained in the 30D Clean Vehicle Credit (30D). These measures will help ensure that stricter eligibility criteria close loopholes that are allowing U.S. taxpayers to fund Chinese materials and market development.
“In addition,” BATT urged, “Congress should consider increasing the production tax credit for battery critical minerals and electrode active materials from 10 percent to 25 percent.”
BATT also encouraged Congress to develop a comprehensive strategic plan for the Departments of Energy and Defense to achieve a resilient domestic battery manufacturing industry and ecosystem, including:
language in the National Defense Authorization Act for sourcing requirements to incentivize procurement from non-Chinese sources.
funding for the Defense Production Act Title III specific to the battery supply chain.
programs to support manufacturing scale-up, address supply chain concerns, provide opportunity for a continuum of support for U.S. entities through technology, manufacturing, and commercialization readiness levels; and
a DOE and DOD Battery Joint Implementation Team to develop crosscutting initiatives and coordinate individual program office efforts to achieve the plan’s goals.
BATT is proud to be at the forefront of building a sustainable domestic supply chain upon which so many critical industries and our armed forces depend, and that we simply cannot cede to our competitors and adversaries.
In addition to BATT’s six charter companies, new members include:
Clarios Circular Solutions in Wisconsin, with operations in South Carolina, is a leading manufacturer of sustainable and reliable battery technologies for a variety of vehicles.
EnergySource Minerals in California is a leader in lithium and other mineral projects and is building a commercial-scale facility to produce 20,000 metric tons of lithium for batteries.
Entegris in Massachusetts, with operations in Arizona, Texas, and numerous other locations, is a global technology company with manufacturing and R&D expertise in critical materials for microelectronics, life sciences, and other industrial sectors.
Factorial Energy in Massachusetts develops cutting-edge battery technologies with longer range and increased safety at lower cost and is partnered with leading global automakers, including Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, Hyundai Motor Company, and Kia Corporation.
Forge Nano in Colorado, which is building a manufacturing plant in North Carolina, is a materials science company specializing in the development of longer lasting, more reliable, and more sustainable batteries.
Lyten Inc. in California is an advanced materials company building a facility in Nevada that develops next-generation lithium-sulfur batteries for the automotive, aerospace, and defense industries.
Sparkz in California, with operations in West Virginia, is at the forefront of lithium batteries that do not rely on imported Cathode Active Material (CAM).
Standard Lithium Ltd. in Canada is producing lithium from brine resources in Arkansas to secure a domestic supply to support the growing battery materials industry.
“In less than six months BATT has made a significant impact as the debate sharpens over the tax reforms and other policies that will be required to secure and expand our industrial base for critical battery technologies and materials and substantially reduce reliance on China and other foreign sources,” said Gillard. “Now we are taking our collective voice to the next level by enlisting the technical expertise and industrial capacity of a slew of other innovators that also represent this self-reliant American industry of the future.”
“From its inception, BATT has been dedicated to drawing from a broad cross section of industry and technology leaders to best inform national policies and investment strategies,” added Dave Howell, BATT Strategy Director. “We are going into 2025 armed with an even stronger and more informed voice to identify the solutions within our grasp that will make America the world leader in energy storage technologies, materials, and production.”
The Battery Advocacy for Technology Transformation (BATT) Coalition is an industry coalition dedicated to increasing domestic production of raw materials and components for electric batteries. Follow us on LinkedIn.