President Joe Biden and senior administration officials will tout investments in critical mineral and electric vehicle battery supply chains during an event at the White House on Tuesday afternoon.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, industry executives, labor leaders and others will join Biden in promoting public and private spending on domestic mineral projects, according to a White House fact sheet.
Experts expect demand for lithium, nickel, cobalt and other battery minerals to skyrocket in coming years as the auto industry continues to spend billions to transition their fleets from gas- and diesel-powered engines to electric ones.
Leaders of Berkshire Hathaway Renewables plan to discuss a new demonstration project in the so-called Lithium Valley area of southern California, where the company expects it could produce 90,000 metric tons of lithium annually once fully operational.
Redwood Materials leaders is expected to tout a partnership with Ford Motor Co. and Volvo Cars Ltd. to extract lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite from batteries at a recycling facility in Nevada.
The Department of Defense announced Thursday that it awarded a $35 million contract to MP Materials Corp., a Las Vegas-based company that plans to build a facility for processing heavy rare earth minerals. General Motors Co. entered an agreement with the company in December to source magnets for EVs.
Granholm is also expected to speak about the Energy Department's $140 million investment in projects that aim to recover minerals from coal ash and mine waste, as well as $3 billion approved by the bipartisan infrastructure law to fund battery mineral refining and recycling.
Last year, Biden issued an executive order directing the administration to identify weaknesses in the supply chains for critical industries, including electric vehicle batteries.
Ahead of the anniversary of the executive order, the White House also plans to announce efforts to recommend changes to mining regulations to promote mining with strong environmental and labor standards, according to the fact sheet.
The administration also aims to update the federal critical mineral list — it currently doesn't include nickel, which is common in EV batteries — and improve national stockpiling.
Increasing economic competition with China and pandemic-induced supply chain shocks have pushed mineral supply concerns to the forefront for the auto industry and administration officials hoping to accelerate the EV transition.
China controls more than 75% of global battery cell production capacity, according to an analysis by the Department of Energy.
