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VOA科学技术2023--US Aims to Increase Battery Production

时间:2024-01-05 02:01:58

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US Aims to Increase Battery Production

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is making an effort to increase battery production in the country.

The DOE recently announced it would provide $3.5 billion to companies that produce batteries and the important minerals that go into them.

Officials see batteries as an important climate solution. The devices can power cars and store clean electricity made from solar panels or wind turbines.

The idea is to use fewer fossil fuels for cars and power plants.

Lithium ion is currently the favored battery for electric vehicles and clean electrical storage. The DOE wants to strengthen the supply. The agency estimates that by 2030 demand for lithium batteries will increase by as much as 10 times.

President Joe Biden's administration has set a goal of lowering the pollution that causes climate change to zero by 2050. It also wants electric automobiles1 to represent half of all new car sales by 2030.

Some officials, industry experts and others are concerned that the supply of battery materials will not keep up with the demand. Others worry that too much of the industry is located in Asia.

Jodie Lutkenhaus of the Texas A&M University said she is closely watching U.S. battery production and manufacturing. "I'm worried that we may not catch up and end up in the same situation we're in now with the semiconductor2 industry," she said. Pandemic closings and suspensions slowed manufacturing in Asia. A microchip shortage resulted, affecting the availability of vehicles and electronic products.

"The same thing can happen with batteries if we don't diversify3 where batteries are made and where materials are sourced," Lutkenhaus said. She said the U.S. must take part in battery production and manufacturing to avoid possible worldwide shortages in the future.

A measure called the Bipartisan Infrastructure4 Law provides $6 billion in total financing for battery manufacturing, including the processing of materials needed to make them.

So far, 15 projects are receiving the assistance. They include companies that mine minerals like graphite and nickel that are used in lithium batteries. Later, contracts will go to other companies, including finance and chemistry businesses.

Here's how it works: A company might want to build a factory to make special materials for electric cars. It estimates the cost of building the facility and commits to covering half of the cost. If the company is selected for the program, the government payment would cover the other half.

Albemarle, a major lithium producer, received financing for a factory in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. The factory processes lithium from ore collected around the world. The company said that in addition to EVs, demand for lithium also comes from electronics like medical devices and smartphones. Without the DOE financial support, the project "would have likely progressed along a different time scale,"Albemarle said in an email.

Matthew McDowell is with the Georgia Institute of Technology. He said the law has changed U.S. battery manufacturing in the past three years. He is excited, he said, about the new batteries for clean energy storage, including solid state batteries, which could possibly hold more energy than lithium ion.

Tom Moerenhout of Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy said it will be difficult to increase the worldwide supply of minerals for the predicted battery demand in 2030. "It's pretty huge," he said, noting that a new mine on average takes 16 years to begin commercial production.

But with the price of lithium rising, Moerenhout said, different battery types become more interesting. One he hopes to see increase is sodium5 ion batteries to help with the electrical grid6. "The potential is quite huge," he said, because they are safe and not costly7.

Companies can officially request financing through mid-March.

Words in This Story

battery – n. a device that is placed inside a machine to supply it with electricity

panel – n. a flat surface

turbine – n. an engine that has blades that are caused to spin by wind

fossil fuel -- n. a fuel such as coal, oil, or natural gas

semiconductor – n. an object that allows some electricity to move through it and that is used especially in electronic devices


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1 automobiles 760a1b7b6ea4a07c12e5f64cc766962b     
n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后,就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上,汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
2 semiconductor Uzuwq     
n.半导体
参考例句:
  • In the beginning,engineers hoped to use semiconductor lasers.在开始时,工程师们希望能够利用半导体激光器。
  • The main agent of the company brand semiconductor sales.本公司主要代理各品牌半导体销售。
3 diversify m8gyt     
v.(使)不同,(使)变得多样化
参考例句:
  • Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
  • Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。
4 infrastructure UbBz5     
n.下部构造,下部组织,基础结构,基础设施
参考例句:
  • We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
  • We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设,发展各类群众文化。
5 sodium Hrpyc     
n.(化)钠
参考例句:
  • Out over the town the sodium lights were lit.在外面,全城的钠光灯都亮了。
  • Common salt is a compound of sodium and chlorine.食盐是钠和氯的复合物。
6 grid 5rPzpK     
n.高压输电线路网;地图坐标方格;格栅
参考例句:
  • In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下,要用载体把格栅密封起来。
  • Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。
7 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。

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