When the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law last summer, one thing was abundantly clear: The future of the U.S. electric vehicle industry will depend greatly on homegrown battery plants.
The law — which has stringent sourcing requirements for vehicles to qualify for tax credits — was designed to boost U.S. manufacturing of EVs and batteries.
In October, Automotive News reporter John Irwin wrote about the incoming wave of battery plant investments following the new law. At the time, Our Next Energy CEO Mujeeb Ijaz said: “We’re happy to see the U.S. government focused on the localization of the supply chain, as well as having cell manufacturing be a very big part of the Inflation Reduction Act’s purpose.”
Fast-forward to today, and you’ll see what the act has wrought — quickly.
In this week’s issue, Part 3 of our five-part Intelligence Report 2023 details 16 battery plant projects that are underway or close to kicking off in the U.S. and Canada. Around this time next year, it’s likely there will be more on the horizon.
And in case you missed previous installments of this year’s Intelligence Report:
Part 1: A look at where leading new ventures that hope to replicate Tesla’s startup success stand.
Part 2: Suppliers — legacy and newbies alike — are vying for a piece of the evolving industry.
And stay tuned for future installments on the status of EV factories and robotaxi companies.