By Mitchell Hartman
“China — for better or worse — is producing the vast, vast majority of batteries as we speak,” said Columbia University climate economist Gernot Wagner. “Well over two-thirds of all lithium-ion batteries currently sold globally are produced in China.”
Wagner said the Biden administration is pumping billions into EV production to try and keep any more of that high-value business from going to China and to prevent the Asian giant from further consolidating its dominance of EV manufacturing and technology worldwide.
But as Wagner pointed out, the U.S. government is lending, not giving, the money to the industry. If all goes well, it’ll be paid back with interest.
Quoted in: “White House EV investment push especially benefits one region” by Mitchell Hartman, NPR Marketplace (23 June 2023)