Trump cancels $700M in battery, manufacturing projects

[Anonymous]

The nixed grants appear to be the first the Department of Energy has confirmed from a list that outlines $20 billion in potential cuts.
The Department of Energy has canceled more than $700 million in battery and manufacturing awards, advancing the Trump administration’s efforts to nix Biden-era energy projects.

DOE told POLITICO’s E&E News on Friday that it canceled the five grants during the second week of October. The cuts appear to be the first that DOE has confirmed from a list of targeted projects circulating among lobbyists. Until now, it was unclear if DOE planned to move forward with scrapping any of the more than $20 billion in awards on the list.

The $700 million covers grants that the Biden administration awarded to battery companies Ascend Elements, American Battery Technology Co., Anovion and ICL Specialty Products, as well as a glass manufacturer LuxWall, according to DOE.
…

From Alabama to Michigan
The nixed grants affect projects backed by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.

The $197.3 million award to ICL Specialty Products was slated to help build a plant in St. Louis producing 30,000 metric tons annually of lithium-ion phosphate powder for the battery industry. The company did not respond to request for comment but said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last week that it was “reviewing DOE’s announcement and the implications thereof.”

The largest canceled award — $316 million to Ascend Elements — was intended to support the manufacture of components from recycled electric vehicle batteries at a planned $1 billion plant in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The battery components would compete with supply that now comes primarily from China, the company said.
…
The $117 million award to Anovion was intended to support production of synthetic graphite for lithium-ion battery anodes, including through construction of a large plant in Alabama. Anovion did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

LuxWall planned to use its $31.7 million DOE grant for construction of an advanced glass factory at the site of an old coal plant in Detroit. In announcing the funding in 2023, the Biden administration said the company’s products would support energy efficient windows that could help slash building emissions.

https://www.eenews.net/articles/doe-cancels-more-than-700m-in-battery-manufacturing-projects/

These projects were funded to allow the US to have a chance at catching up to the Chinese and develop a US supplier and demand for rare earth minerals. That is done now along with a boatload of manufacturing jobs. There is no investment coming in to the US. Trump has shut it down.

[Anonymous]

China loves this. We have lost green energy forever.

[Anonymous]

Batteries are the farthest thing from green energy. Not "clean" or renewable. Massive amounts of CO2 created in mining and manufacturing. The waste is toxic when the batteries are disposed of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Batteries are the farthest thing from green energy. Not "clean" or renewable. Massive amounts of CO2 created in mining and manufacturing. The waste is toxic when the batteries are disposed of.

Don't worry, the oil companies paid for this

They don't plan to be green

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Batteries are the farthest thing from green energy. Not "clean" or renewable. Massive amounts of CO2 created in mining and manufacturing. The waste is toxic when the batteries are disposed of.

So what? We still need a manufacturing base. Guess we'll just import from China.

[Anonymous]

No need for grants. Just put a high tariff on Chinese imports, forcing them to manufacture in America. Have a rule that these Chinese companies must be in a partnership with an American company, that is at least 50% American. Then you steal the technology from the factory in America.

[Anonymous]

Assume he's going to be getting a kickback from China.

[Anonymous]

Good, the future is nuclear

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Batteries are the farthest thing from green energy. Not "clean" or renewable. Massive amounts of CO2 created in mining and manufacturing. The waste is toxic when the batteries are disposed of.

Yawn. Your ignorance is showing again..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No need for grants. Just put a high tariff on Chinese imports, forcing them to manufacture in America. Have a rule that these Chinese companies must be in a partnership with an American company, that is at least 50% American. Then you steal the technology from the factory in America.

So act like an authoritarian country. Lovely.

[Anonymous]

Interestingly investment in future energy production is now 1/3 fossil fuels and 2/3 solar, wind, battery, etc.

The cheapest most economical way to meet electricity grid demand is through wind, solar and batteries. This has been shut down by Trump.

So the cost of electricity will continue to get a lot more expensive in the US. This increased cost of not using the most economical option will be passed on the consumers and companies. The rest of the world will not have these economical disadvantages.

All of the expected 3-5% yearly increase in electric demand in the US for the next 15-20 years can be easily be met by wind, solar and battery technology. It is actually the most economical way to go- ie huge saving over fossil fuels.

It is too bad the US will not be in position to capitalize on these opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Batteries are the farthest thing from green energy. Not "clean" or renewable. Massive amounts of CO2 created in mining and manufacturing. The waste is toxic when the batteries are disposed of.

Don't worry, the oil companies paid for this

They don't plan to be green

At last Democrats and oil companies have something in common.

[Anonymous]

Let the Chinese bribes begin!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No need for grants. Just put a high tariff on Chinese imports, forcing them to manufacture in America. Have a rule that these Chinese companies must be in a partnership with an American company, that is at least 50% American. Then you steal the technology from the factory in America.

The Chinese had agreed to that. They were willing to share technology and build plants in the US. This is the new model China is using through out the world. They are partnering with countries, building plants in those countries and sharing manufacturing processes and technology. Trump has canceled all those in the US.

Gotion’s Colossal Battery Factory In Michigan Is Dead
The State of Michigan has canceled a giant factory that would have brought cutting-edge battery technology to America.

Chinese battery giant Gotion High-Tech wanted to bring local manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries to Michigan.
The state's economic development corporation initially backed the plant, but has since rescinded its support.
Gotion planned to train American workers to make cutting-edge batteries and promised 2,350 high-paying jobs.
In 2022, the Chinese company Gotion High-Tech began construction of a $2.4 billion battery factory in Northern Michigan, promising 2,350 high-paying jobs and one of the state’s largest economic development projects.

The State of Michigan promised more than $100 million in subsidies to the battery company, of which it had already disbursed over $23 million to help Gotion acquire land near Big Rapids. But the state’s economic development division is now asking for that money back and has canceled the remaining subsidies promised to the company, Crain’s Detroit Business reported Thursday.

Gotion High-Tech is one of the world’s largest battery manufacturers, accounting for 3.6% of the global cell manufacturing capacity between January and August of this year—which nearly equals Panasonic—according to Korean market research firm SNE Research.

https://insideevs.com/news/776936/gotion-battery-factory-michigan-dead/

The US will not be competitive in the new electrified economies. Look at one market segment. EV mid and heavy truck segments went from 0% of the market in 2022 to 4% in 2024. Battery prices keep falling, energy density keeps increasing. This is a technological revolution in transportation and electrical generation that is being driven by cost savings. The US is not a player.

China sell 35 million new cars a year(US market is 16 million) and all the big car manufacturers including US make about 50% of their profits in China. That has stopped because they can not compete with Chinese EVs.

China has reached peak oil demand. Remember for every barrel of oil, ton of coal used you lose 65-80% of its energy. This has a hidden cost of 5-8% of GDP. With electricity you use 90-95% of the energy. It’s about efficiency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Batteries are the farthest thing from green energy. Not "clean" or renewable. Massive amounts of CO2 created in mining and manufacturing. The waste is toxic when the batteries are disposed of.

Your complaints are a distortion. Extraction of oil, gas and coal, and refining of oil are far more environmentally damaging, use more power, and produce far more pollution than batteries. Plus, battery manufacturing impacts are largely once, up front during manufacture, whereas fossil fuels continue to pollute for the entire time they are used. Either go find some different rubes to peddle your dumb lobbyist talking points to, or tell their think tank to get some better ones.