The US Just Can’t Match China’s Industrial Heft

The American attempt at an industrial policy to build electric vehicles and batteries has, once again, fallen flat. The recently released list of firms selected for $2.8 billion of funding shows as much. They look more like late-stage R&D projects than companies ready to scale.

Earlier this month, the Biden administration announced the first set of projects that will be funded by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to expand domestic production of EV batteries and the grid, and “for materials and components currently imported from other countries.” Instead of focusing on manufacturing — its biggest weakness — the US Department of Energy has backed firms that will process lithium, “demonstrate new approaches” and recycle powerpacks.