NRG matters — US to spend $3bn for EV battery manufacturing;

RIYADH: The Biden administration will allocate more than $3 billion in infrastructure funding to finance electric vehicle battery manufacturing, US officials said on Monday.

The funds will be allocated by the Department of Energy from the $1 trillion infrastructure bill President Joe Biden signed last year. Among the initiatives will be the processing of minerals for use in large-capacity batteries and recycling those batteries, the agency said in a statement.

Biden wants half of the vehicles sold in the US to be electric by 2030, a goal he hopes will boost unionized manufacturing jobs in key election battleground states, thwart Chinese competition in a fast-growing market, and reduce climate-changing carbon emissions.

The administration is also positioning the measures as a step to secure energy independence and cut long-term inflation pressures exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“As we face this Putin price hike on oil and gas, it’s also important to note that electric vehicles will be cheaper over the long-haul for American families,” Mitch Landrieu, the White House infrastructure coordinator, told reporters in a briefing, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Enough nickel, lithium for 14 million EVs in 2023 – European climate group

Data shows there is enough nickel and lithium to produce up to 14 million electric vehicles globally in 2023, so Europe should secure more raw materials to shift away from oil faster, campaign group Transport and Environment said on Tuesday.

In a study based on Bloomberg NEF data on global maximum volumes of EV battery-grade nickel and lithium, T&E said that in 2025 there would be enough to make 21 million EVs globally.

Excluding Russian nickel, T&E said there should be sufficient raw materials for 19 million EVs in 2025.

Global EV sales more than doubled to 4.2 million vehicles in 2021 from just over 2 million in 2020.

Automotive consultancy LMC has forecast global EV sales will hit 9 million in 2023 and 14.2 million in 2025.

Prices of EV battery materials have soared over the last year, with battery-grade nickel breaking fresh records after the invasion of Ukraine as Russia is a major nickel producer.

T&E said competition for lithium and nickel was fierce and noted both China and the United States had been working to ensure access to those raw materials.

Europe needs to follow suit and establish an agency to ensure the supply of “sustainably sourced critical metals.”

“While China and the US are flexing their policy muscle to secure supplies of critical metals, European leaders are scouring the globe for more oil,” said T&E senior director Julia Poliscanova. 

She added, “Now is the time to focus on sourcing the sustainable raw materials the continent needs for our energy independence and a green future.”

Eastward gas flows on Yamal-Europe pipeline resume

Meanwhile,  Eastbound gas flows via the Yamal-Europe pipeline from Germany to Poland resumed on Tuesday morning, after falling to zero overnight, data from pipeline operator Gascade showed. 

The Yamal-Europe pipeline, which traverses Belarus, Poland and Germany, has mostly worked in a reverse mode since last December, sending gas eastward from Germany to Poland.

On Monday, physical flows at the Mallnow metering point on the German border had dropped to zero after gas flows resumed westward from Poland to Germany at 82,233 kWh/h for a brief period. 

(With input from Reuters)