{"id":13734,"date":"2022-09-01T15:30:26","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T15:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/09\/01\/the-shift-to-electric-vehicles-is-about-to-overwhelm-meager-us-mining-operations\/"},"modified":"2022-09-01T15:30:27","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T15:30:27","slug":"the-shift-to-electric-vehicles-is-about-to-overwhelm-meager-us-mining-operations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/09\/01\/the-shift-to-electric-vehicles-is-about-to-overwhelm-meager-us-mining-operations\/","title":{"rendered":"The shift to electric vehicles is about to overwhelm meager US mining operations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2022\/8\/31\/23330537\/ev-battery-mineral-shortage-us-tax-credits<\/a>
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Electric vehicles are very helpful for fighting climate change. But EVs need batteries, and batteries need minerals like nickel, cobalt, and lithium. The US has some of these minerals underground, and it wants to dig them up, expeditiously, so that it doesn\u2019t have to rely as much on other countries, including China. <\/p>\n

But this is where it gets tricky. Mining operators say they can speed up the digging process, but a bunch of regulatory roadblocks stand in their way. And environmentalists and tribal groups remain extremely skeptical<\/a> that all this mining can be done in a way that doesn\u2019t ruin the land and spoil the water. <\/p>\n

This more or less summarizes the nearly 27,000 comments that the Department of the Interior has received over the last six months since it published a request for information<\/a> on ways to improve federal hardrock mining regulations, laws, and permitting practices. The department will need to comb through these comments as it mulls much-needed reforms to a very outdated law. And it will need to figure a way to navigate all these competing interests and concerns as it seeks to bolster US mining to supply rising EV demand while also protecting the environment.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s going to be a nearly impossible task. <\/p>\n

The Inflation Reduction Act, the Democrats\u2019 new tax and climate bill, devotes nearly $400 billion to clean energy initiatives over the next decade, including EV tax credits<\/a> and financing for companies that manufacture clean cars in the US. And California said it would ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles starting in 2035<\/a>, a move that over a dozen other states are expected to follow. <\/p>\n

But the only EVs that will be eligible for the $7,500 credit are ones that are made in North America using batteries with minerals dug out of the ground in the US or from its trading partners. These requirements are largely viewed as unachievable by many observers because of the auto industry\u2019s heavy reliance on battery materials and components from China. <\/p>\n

This fear is reflected in the comments left by major automakers in response to the Department of the Interior\u2019s request for information. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents nearly every legacy automaker in the US, put it in blunt terms. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe US does not have significant processing capacity for EV battery materials and is reliant on other nations for refined raw materials, leaving the US market exposed to the risk of being impacted by supply chains outside of US control,\u201d the group said. <\/p>\n

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