February 9, 2023: A bipartisan group of leading US senators have called on the Biden administration to ensure future federal funding to bolster energy independence also goes to non-lithium battery chemistries.

Joe Manchin (pictured), chairman of the senate energy and natural resources committee, Angus King, Jim Risch, Shelley Capito and Sheldon Whitehouse, wrote to energy secretary Jennifer Granholm on January 30 — urging the government to “seek a broad spectrum of battery chemistries not wholly exclusive to lithium ion based battery technology”.

The letter praised the use of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to support funding for lithium battery tech but said funding should be offered to “all compelling emerging technologies, such as multi-day storage chemistries, iron-air batteries or other new configurations”.

Battery Council International said last March that lead batteries were set to underpin a new era of energy independence in the US, as the country scrambled to head-off potential shortages of critical material supplies for energy storage and electric vehicles.

BCI’s announcement came as the US Geological Survey warned the country was still heavily dependent on imports for key battery materials including cobalt, lithium, manganese and nickel.

In a related move, BCI’s ‘Essential Energy Everyday’ campaign published an online briefing to guide policymakers in funding decisions for advanced battery R&D.