As global demand for electricity and electric vehicles reaches new peaks, batteries are becoming increasingly central to our abilities to power our homes, businesses, and transportation systems. Although battery technology has existed for decades, to date most of it has been produced outside of the United States. Now as the market grows, the American battery industry is racing to catch up, with new innovations and domestic facilities spanning raw material resources to final battery production. And across the emerging “Battery Belt,” there is an opportunity for every state to play a major role – particularly North Carolina.
North Carolina boasts several qualities to launch new innovative industries, including cutting-edge research centers and a powerful manufacturing base. These nationally-leading characteristics set the stage for North Carolinians to play a leading role in the development of a secure, resilient, and homegrown battery supply chain. In October, the C2ES Regional Clean Economies Initiative partnered with the North Carolina Battery Industry Partnership to bring together over forty representatives of business, government, and communities for a workshop in Charlotte, North Carolina focused on solutions to support the battery supply chain in the state.
In the battery supply chain, North Carolina can have it all: The state has forthcoming and operational facilities that span the full value chain, from critical minerals extraction and processing to the final assembly of batteries. The state university and technical college system provides a robust talent pipeline that can provide the workforce of the future while supporting a research ecosystem for new battery materials and production technologies. Our roundtable participants celebrated the state’s achievements to date in attracting Toyota’s major battery assembly facility in Liberty, NC, supporting development of its lithium resources by Elevra and Albemarle, and working hand in hand with incoming companies to develop supporting infrastructure.
However, the battery industry’s future isn’t yet fully-charged , with recent changes to federal tax credits and the loss of some direct funding for battery projects across the United States, the rapidly shifting policy environment is injecting significant uncertainty into an industry that was just starting to spark. These sentiments echo what we’ve heard in other battery supply chain events across the Southeast. States and communities are worried that the current uncertainty will prevent them from seeing the job growth and tax revenue the industry was poised to bring before this seismic policy shift. Yet in the face of this uncertainty, demand for these products continues to rise alongside our power demand, and investing in the domestic supply chain will be crucial to ensuring American communities can capture the economic opportunity this market has to offer.
To support the battery industry in North Carolina, roundtable participants developed several actionable recommendations that can support the private sector, developing infrastructure, attracting capital, enhancing safety, and building out the supply chain. These included recommendations for:
- a “smart onshoring” policy framework to bring companies in the battery industry to the state
- a convening to bring together investors and new battery technology developers/startups
- a national framework for safety to support communities and technology developers
- a central state battery storage office
- a complete map of the supply chain in North Carolina and beyond.
These recommendations will join those developed by participants in our Tennessee, Alabama, and forthcoming Georgia roundtables, culminating in a regional policy roadmap to support the industry across the Southeast United States. Our Southeast series will continue with our final convening of the year in Atlanta in early November. To learn more about the program, see our Regional Clean Economies Initiative.
