Photo: Sarahbeth Maney / USA Today
WASHINGTON DC, October 20, 2022 ~ Wednesday, the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $2.8 billion EV vehicle battery production funding package across 12 states as part of investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and Michigan is not included.
DOE officials stated that there were two reasons for excluding the Great Lakes State in the initiative: already existing federal funding for battery cell manufacturing in Michigan that came back in August from the Inflation Reduction Act, and they wanted to place projects close to customers, or raw material supply.
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October 20, 2022 ~ 760 WJR Senior News Analyst Chris Renwick tells Kevin and Tom about the US Department of Energy announcing $2.8 billion in funding for 12 states for electric vehicle battery production, but Michigan wasn’t one of the states.
(CONTINUED) The later however has some observers scratching their heads, an nickel is an integral part of battery production and the only nickel mine in the country is the Eagle Mine, located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Most of the states included – Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Tennessee and Washington – are southeastern states that are becoming known as the “Battery Belt,” and contain many foreign-owned nonunionized automakers.
Officials continued, saying there will be further rounds of funding in the future, and that Michigan may be added to the list of project states depending on “which part of the supply chain we’re solving for.”
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