<thread> My third testimony to the US Senate, June 2020: key points
China is building the equivalent of one battery megafactory a week, the United States one every four months.
In that time, we have witnessed a global battery arms race and watched the world’s number of supersized battery plants – known as battery megafactories or gigafactories – go from 17 to 142 [now 167]
Lithium ion batteries are a core platform technology for the 21st century.
They allow our energy to be stored on a widespread basis in electric vehicles and energy storage systems, and they spark the demand for the critical raw materials and chemicals.
A new global lithium ion economy is being created.
Yet, any ambitions for the United States to be a leader in this lithium ion economy continue to only creep forward and be outstripped by China and Europe.
This rise of the battery megafactories will require demand for raw materials to increase significantly.
By 2029, demand for nickel will double, cobalt to grow by 3 times, flake graphite and manganese by four times, and lithium by more than six times.
The tectonic plates of our industry have shifted.
However, be under no illusions that the United States needs to build this 21st century heavy industry from scratch.
FDR’s New Deal, for example, built core infrastructure that the United States still relies on today.
Yet instead of dams, you need to build battery megafactories in their multiples.
Instead of highways, bridges and tunnels, you need to build the supply chains to enable these megafactories to operate securely and consistently.
Those who invest in battery capacity and supply chains today will hold the sway of industrial power for generations to come.
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