Washington, D.C.— SAFE congratulates Joe Biden as President-elect and Kamala Harris as Vice President-elect and the first ever woman to achieve that. Now, as President-elect Biden begins to assemble his cabinet and the United States Senate and House of Representatives organize for the 117th Congress, SAFE calls for bipartisan action to create a comprehensive plan for America to assume global leadership in emerging industries of significant economic and strategic importance—particularly in battery technology and tomorrow’s connected, autonomous and electric vehicles.
“To date China has exerted vast influence over battery technology and the entire electric vehicle supply chain, from minerals to markets. The United States must meaningfully engage so we do not become dependent on our largest global competitor for the technologies that will keep our people and economy moving for decades to come and are critical to workers and our industrial strength,” said Robbie Diamond, President and CEO of SAFE.
SAFE’s recent report, The Commanding Heights of Global Transportation, outlines how Beijing has identified and heavily backed companies that will lead the world in tomorrow’s most important technologies such as Huawei in 5G, and both BYD and CATL in electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries. As a result, American companies seeking to compete in these industries are competing against the Chinese state, rather than private Chinese enterprise.
SAFE’s report found China controls nearly 70 percent of global EV battery manufacturing capacity, while North America has less than 10 percent. Moreover, 107 of the 142 lithium-ion battery megafactories under construction worldwide are, or will be, located in China. Just nine are planned for the United States. The report concludes that a bipartisan approach is therefore needed that protects current and future jobs, strengthening our industrial base while achieving environmental goals.
“National security has always been a bipartisan concern, and there are significant economic concerns inherent in the U.S. losing leadership in the auto sector and transportation technology. Urgent mobilization of our considerable resources is required. Beijing is not waiting. SAFE urges the incoming administration and Congress to collaborate to create a minerals-to-markets plan that ensures workers and our industrial strength are connected to environmental goals making it a bipartisan win.” Diamond added.
Contact: Alex Adams | 202.461.2374 | aadams@secureenergy.org
About SAFE
SAFE enhances the nation’s energy security and supports our economic resurgence and resiliency, by advancing transformative transportation and mobility technologies and ensuring that the United States secures key aspects of the technology supply chain to achieve and maintain our strategic advantage.
In partnership with the Electrification Coalition, SAFE’s sister organization, we work with consumers, businesses, and policymakers, to launch award-winning “real-world” programs and enable the needed polices to accelerate transportation electrification around the country to reduce our Nation’s dependence on oil.
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