Tell Congress to protect America’s battery industries!

BYD, China’s cleantech behemoth which among other accomplishments is the biggest EV company in the world, has unveiled a new modular grid-scale battery storage unit with the world’s largest-ever (so far!) single-unit capacity. Their HaoHan system integrates the cutting edge BYD Blade battery for 14.5 megawatt-hours of storage per unit, where the industry norm (for example, in U.S. batteries) is 6 to 7 megawatt-hours of storage per unit. BYD claims that using HaoHan can lower maintenance costs by 70% and project costs by 21%. They plan to deploy HaoHan battery units in gigawatt-scale projects by the end of 2025, with one early customer in Saudi Arabia and future expansion options around the world.

China is currently the overwhelming world leader in battery manufacturing. In 2024, China produced well over 2 terawatt-hours (TWh) of battery capacity (over three-quarters of all batteries sold globally!), while the USA produced just 0.2 TWH — and even that was a big improvement, double the 0.1 TWh America produced in 2022.

This is important because battery technology is quickly becoming absolutely central to civilization, from smartphones to electric cars to grid-scale power stabilizers to the drones that are increasingly a primary weapon of war.

The United States does have some fascinating projects investigating cutting-edge new battery chemistries and configurations, from Form Energy’s iron-air batteries in West Virginia to Dr. Lonnie Johnson’s solid-state batteries in Alabama. With ongoing effort these might be developed to “leapfrog” towards new market-leading technologies. Batteries are being rapidly deployed worldwide, bringing efficient motors, abundant energy, and clean air. The U.S. can still claim a big piece of that future! The possibility-space of battery chemistries is immense, and development is only just beginning.

But the current White House is actively sabotaging the U.S. battery industry across the board, from removing Inflation Reduction Act supports for a key EV demand driver to imposing tariffs on vital materials. Now, they’re going after the high-skilled battery workforce: the new fees on H1-B visas will drastically harm American technical competitiveness, while ICE recently shamefully deported and brutally abused South Korean workers who were only in America to help construct a battery factory for Hyundai in Georgia! This is national sabotage to a painfully absurd degree.

Congress must act to protect America’s strategically vital battery industries. Impose congressional oversight of the executive branch, insist on red lines supporting battery development in upcoming budget talks, demand removal of out-of-control executive branch officials — whatever it takes.

Tell Congress to protect America’s battery industries!