U.S. Battery Supply Chain Lags Behind China Despite $500 Million in DOE Funding
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has allocated $500 million to seven companies working on battery minerals, manufacturing, and recycling — the first disbursement from two larger programs established under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. However, analysts argue that this funding is insufficient to significantly reduce China's dominance in the global battery supply chain. China controls over 85% of EV battery cathode production, more than 90% of anode material manufacturing, and four-fifths of all battery cell production globally. It also dominates lithium processing stages, including refining spodumene into usable forms. Experts warn that building a comparable supply chain in the U.S. would require decades and hundreds of billions of dollars. Some DOE-funded companies are targeting specific areas where China holds an advantage — such as using domestic silicon for battery anodes or extracting lithium from saline water to bypass Chinese processing facilities. Despite these efforts, analysts remain skeptical about catching up within a reasonable timeframe given the scale of investment required.
Topics: battery supply chain China's dominance in EV manufacturing DOE funding U.S. energy policy