WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) has joined Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) in introducing the Battery Material Processing and Component Manufacturing Act. The Senators’ legislation will support clean energy technologies, create jobs, support global competitiveness, and improve domestic supply chains by strengthening America’s domestic battery manufacturing industry.

“As global supply chains struggle to meet increased demand and the threats of climate change grow, investing in American battery technology is a vital opportunity to support our economy and our environment - we can address both these issues by reconsidering what we do with used batteries,” said Senator King. “The Battery Material Processing and Component Manufacturing Act will help us produce the batteries that power cutting edge technologies here in America, while also building a circular economy for those batteries by recycling and reprocessing critical components for reuse. This legislation will mean less reliance on foreign markets, and more jobs across the country in a fast-growing field.”

“The Battery Materials and Technology Coalition thanks Senators King and Cortez Masto for their work to support a robust North American battery supply chain,” said Ben Steinberg, Battery Materials and Technology Coalition spokesperson. “This critical piece of legislation will provide needed financial support to make America competitive in the global EV battery market, create new domestic manufacturing jobs, and help to reduce carbon emissions.”

The Battery Material Processing and Component Manufacturing Act will establish a $6 billion fund at the Department of Energy (DOE) to allow industry, state and local government, and academic institutions to apply for grants to support battery recycling programs, research, and development. These investments will allow for expanded domestic manufacturing of advanced batteries and make the production of the batteries essential to our daily lives a greener, more sustainable process.

Senator King has long advocated for improving battery technology as a way to fight climate change and create good-paying American jobs. Earlier this year, Senator King introduced the Battery and Critical Mineral Recycling Act of 2021, bipartisan legislation to incentivize the recycling of single use and rechargeable batteries. 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. In addition, Senator King has worked to strengthen key climate legislation from his seat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee where he fought for the inclusion of funding to boost grid reliability and resiliency, strengthen supply chains for critical minerals and clean energy technology, and advance key research and development efforts at our national labs, among other priorities in the Senate Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework.