U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg cited an article in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in a social media post praising a boom in U.S. manufacturing triggered by an increased demand for electric vehicles.
“American manufacturing is on the rise. We're investing in the future and building the next generation of EVs right here in the United States,” Buttigieg posted on Twitter Jan. 4.
The WSJ reported on Jan. 1 that approximately $33 billion in new auto-factory investment has been pledged in the U.S., activity that’s driven mostly “by the shift to electric vehicles and new federal subsidies aimed at boosting U.S. battery manufacturing.”
A Jan. 4 White House Fact Sheet outlined ways the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) is being implemented, including investments in EV manufacturing and infrastructure.
Ford and SK broke ground in December 2022 on a $5.8 billion battery manufacturing campus at BlueOval SK Battery Park in Glendale, Ky., according to the fact sheet. The advanced batteries will be produced for future Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles, a Ford announcement stated. Production is scheduled to begin in 2025.
Ascend Elements is building a $1 billion facility in Hopkinsville, Ky., that will produce “battery materials from recycled lithium-ion batteries,” according to the fact sheet. U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) provided $480 million in funding for the project.
“Ascend will produce enough material to power 250,000 electric vehicles annually, helping break dependence on China for critical materials and strengthen U.S. supply chains,” the fact sheet reports.
The BIL also is providing $5 billion over five years to build EV-charging infrastructure along 53,000 miles of highways crossing the country, the Department of Transportion (DOT) announced at the time. More than two-thirds of EV infrastructure plans submitted by states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, were approved ahead of schedule for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, the DOT statement reports.
President Joe Biden commented on social media about the connection between infrastructure and the American people.
“When I talk about infrastructure, I'm talking about making investments in America's heartland, people, and future," Pres. Biden posted to Twitter. "Making things here again. Because it's about damn time we did."
