The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $3.16 billion in funding from President Biden’s ‘Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’ to expand domestic battery manufacturing, bolster domestic supply chains, and spur job creation.

DOE will also set aside a separate $60 million in grants to support second-life applications for batteries once used to power electric vehicles and new processes for recycling materials back into the battery supply chain.

DOE separately announced up to $45 million in funding to support the domestic development of advanced batteries for electric vehicles. Through its Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, the department will launch the Electric Vehicles for American Low-Carbon Living (EVs4ALL) program to develop more affordable, convenient, efficient, and resilient batteries.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy’s EVs4ALL funding opportunity aims to address market concerns like charging speeds and availability, efficiencies, and battery resilience.  It is expected to dramatically increase domestic electric vehicle adoption by eliminating key detractors for consumers.

All three funding opportunities are considered critical components to strengthening America’s energy independence to reduce the nation’s reliance on other competing nations and support the President’s goal to have electric vehicles make up half of all vehicle sales in America by 2030.

“Positioning the United States front and center in meeting the growing demand for advanced batteries is how we boost our competitiveness and electrify our transportation system,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “President Biden’s historic investment in battery production and recycling will give our domestic supply chain the jolt it needs to become more secure and less reliant on other nations—strengthening our clean energy economy, creating good-paying jobs, and decarbonizing the transportation sector.”

DOE stated that it is working with industry to prepare the United States for increased demand for lithium-ion batteries over the next decade. The department believes that the responsible and sustainable domestic sourcing of the critical materials used to make lithium-ion batteries, such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite, would help mitigate supply chain disruptions and accelerate battery production in America to meet this demand support the adoption of electric vehicles.

In February, DOE issued two notices of intent to invest $2.91 billion to enhance the production of advanced batteries, critical to the fast-growing clean energy industries, including electric vehicles and energy storage.

Mercom had earlier reported that the department pledged up to $100 million in financing for research and development of transformative clean energy technology to support the Biden Administration’s climate innovative agenda.