US announces major investments in local, sustainable battery supply chain

The United States government under President Joe Biden has announced a raft of investments intended to help to secure a domestic supply chain for materials such as lithium and rare earths, which are critical for the transition to a ‘clean’ economy

The US intends to reduce its over-reliance on external sources for critical minerals and materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earths.

As a result, it is taking steps to geographically diversify its partnerships and to support the procurement of sustainable resources, as well as supporting the expansion of domestic mining, refining and recycling of critical materials.

Lithium, cobalt and nickel are key raw materials in the power-trains of electric vehicles (EVs), demand for which was expected to soar in the near and medium terms globally.

Other announcements made earlier this week by the Biden administration included saying that Berkshire Hathaway Energy Renewables will test the commercial viability of its sustainable lithium extraction process from geothermal brine in Imperial County, California, in the second quarter of 2022. This will be part of a multi-billion-dollar investment in local sustainable lithium production over the next five years.

Also, Redwood Materials has joined forces with carmakers Ford and Volvo for a pilot project aiming at the recycling of end-of-life batteries at its facility in Nevada, to recover critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite.

And the US Department of Energy recently announced a $3 billion investment in building a refining and recycling capacity for critical raw materials key to energy transition.

This is an extract from an article published to the Fastmarkets platform on Thursday, 24 February. Find out more about the platform here.

To keep up to date with the news and market analysis of the energy transition market, visit our dedicated energy transition page.

What to read next
Read Fastmarkets' monthly battery raw materials market update for March 2025, focusing on raw materials including lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite and more
A second pricing notice will follow when the pricing database has been updated.  The following prices have been affected by this:MB-AL-0256 Aluminium fixing price for LME trade, rand/tonne MB-CU-0338 Copper fixing price for LME trade, rand/tonne MB-PB-0064 Lead fixing price for LME trade, rand/tonne MB-NI-0093 Nickel fixing price for LME trade, rand/tonne MB-SN-0005 Tin rand fixing price for LME trade, […]
Significant challenges lie ahead for Europe and its plans to decarbonize transport, industry experts have told Fastmarkets following the European Commission’s recent decision to relax emissions standards for domestic automakers.
The consultation, which is open until Friday April 4, seeks to ensure that our audited methodologies and price specifications continue to reflect the physical markets for in compliance with the IOSCO principles for PRAs. This includes all elements of our pricing process, our price specifications and publication frequency. The prices subject to this review are […]
MB-CO-0004 Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb MB-CO-0005 Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb These prices are a part of the Fastmarkets minor metals package. Additionally, the publication of Fastmarkets’ MB-CO-0023 cobalt hydroxide, min 30% Co, inferred, China price for Monday March 10 was delayed because of an administrative error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated. MB-CO-0023 cobalt […]
Liontown Resources is turning its mind to dealmaking to expand its focus beyond its Kathleen Valley lithium mine in Australia, the company’s chief executive officer told Fastmarkets.