Washington, D.C – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will begin distributing over $3.6 billion in funding to boost production and recycling of batteries, bolster domestic supply chains, create good-paying jobs, and help lower costs for families.

This funding was authorized through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and provided through the U.S. Department of Energy.  Senator Collins was part of the core group of 10 Senators who negotiated the text of the bipartisan infrastructure law.  Senators Collins and King both worked to negotiate and pass this historic legislation, which will deliver billions of dollars to Maine for investments in roads, bridges, broadband, and more.

“Energy storage technology holds such great promise in the fight against climate change. By strengthening current technology and advancing next-generation energy storage, we can integrate more renewables, such as wind and solar, which in turn will help to reduce emissions,” said Senator Collins.  “This investment in battery storage manufacturing and recycling—in conjunction with the Better Energy Storage Technology Act I authored to guide battery research efforts—will help substantially reduce the cost of these technologies, improve the efficiency of our nation’s electric grid, and bring us closer to a clean energy future.  As a key negotiator of the bipartisan infrastructure package, I am delighted that this new law will help make energy supplies more secure, abundant, and affordable while creating new jobs.”

“Battery technologies are key to unlocking our clean energy future. When we can efficiently store and distribute renewable energy – even when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow – we will open a whole new world of possibilities for our economy and our environment,” said Senator King. “Investing in this infrastructure of the future right here in America is a true game changer that will help fight climate change, create good paying jobs across the country, and reduce global reliance on fossil fuel exporters like Russia. It is one of the most important investments we can make, and that’s why I’m particularly excited about this new funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that will support the build out of a variety of new battery technologies.”

The “Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing” and “Electric Drive Vehicle Battery Recycling and Second Life Applications” funding opportunities are aligned with the National Blueprint for Lithium Batteries, authored by the Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries, and led by DOE and the Departments of Defense, Commerce, and State.  The blueprint details a path to bolstering the domestic battery supply by creating a robust and diverse battery workforce.  The funding will support the creation of new, retrofitted, and expanded commercial facilities as well as manufacturing demonstrations and battery recycling.  It will also be used to support second-life applications for batteries once used to power EVs, as well as new processes for recycling materials back into the battery supply chain.

Senator Collins has been a longstanding champion of clean energy and battery storage technologies.  In December 2020, her bipartisan legislation to accelerate the development of next-generation energy storage was signed into law.  The Better Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Act will support grid-scale energy storage research and development and improve the efficiency of the nation’s electric grid, while helping to align research efforts on energy storage technologies.  Senator Collins secured $500 million—a historic level of funding—for energy storage research in the Fiscal Year 2022 Energy and Water Appropriations law.  In March 2021, Senator Collins introduced the Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment Act to establish an investment tax credit (ITC) for business and home use of energy storage.  She also previously co-authored the American Energy Opportunity Act, a bipartisan bill to provide state and local governments with voluntary tools to expedite and standardize the permitting process for distributed energy technologies, such as battery storage.

Senator King has long advocated for improving battery technology as a way to fight climate change and create good-paying American jobs. Last year, he introduced the Battery Material Processing and Component Manufacturing Act, to boost domestic production of batteries, and the Battery and Critical Mineral Recycling Act of 2021, to incentivize the recycling of single use and rechargeable batteries – both of which were included in the final Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. He is also the lead sponsor of the Joint Long-Term Storage Act which seeks to speed up deployment of long-duration energy storage technologies through strategic collaboration between federal agencies, and recently introduced legislation that will improve America’s access to the critical minerals necessary for battery manufacturing. As a member of the bipartisan G22, a group of 22 Senators from both parties heavily involved in the negotiation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – and the leader of a bipartisan Oval Office meeting early in the process – Senator King worked hard to include funding for clean energy technologies, broadband, roads and bridges, and more in the historic package.