The USA begins to produce the raw materials needed for batteries internally
Mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), a nickel-based product critical to the development of electric vehicle batteries, will be produced for the first time in the United States by Massachusetts metal refiner Nth Cycle, according to an article in electrek released Thursday.
Megan O'Connor, co-founder and CEO of Nth Cycle, said about the development: “We are able to cost-effectively and efficiently solve a key supply chain challenge for electric vehicle OEMs and battery produced by our unique electromining platform”.
“And as we continue to decarbonise the grid and electrify transportation, it's more important than ever that our refining processes are environmentally friendly and that working practices are safe. Our MHP product delivers both,” he added.
Currently, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is in effect in the United States which offers a $7,500 tax credit to electric vehicles. However, in order to qualify for the credit, a portion of the electric car's battery minerals must be mined or processed in the United States or in free-trade partner countries. So far, most of the MHP has been produced in Indonesia, which is not a free trade partner of the United States, making the source of the IRA product ineligible. Also, MHP produced in Indonesia is not of the best quality. It has low concentrations of nickel and cobalt (30-40% nickel and only 1-10% cobalt). Nth Cycle, on the other hand, claims it will produce an MHP product that is over 90 percent nickel-cobalt hydroxide. The company is also environmentally friendly.
In January 2022, electric car company Tesla, which has in the past been criticized by some for being less green than it claims to be, signed its first US nickel supply deal, choosing the Tamarack mining project of Talon Metals Corp in Minnesota for this task.
So the famous Inflation Reduction Act is starting to work in bringing the production of some essential components back to the USA. Everything is achieved with money and investment, while the Commission's talk will achieve nothing.
Thanks to our Telegram channel you can stay updated on the publication of new articles from Economic Scenarios.
The article The US begins to produce domestically the raw materials needed for batteries comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/gli-usa-iniziano-a-produrre-internamente-le-materie-prime-necessarie-per-le-batterie/ on Sun, 05 Feb 2023 17:04:56 +0000.