Biden Deploys Pentagon to Beat Climate Change and China
A $37.5 million grant to Graphite One acts as a relaxed form of venture capital as the White House supports nascent parts of the domestic cleantech supply chain.
Graphite concentrate flows at a facility in Quebec, Canada.
Photographer: Christinne Muschi/Bloomberg via Getty Images
President Joe Biden’s green pitch has long had two prongs: saving the planet and outpacing China. The two are now combined in one elemental form: Graphite.
The Department of Defense announced on Monday morning a $37.5 million grant for Graphite One Inc., a start-up developing North America’s largest deposit of the material. Back in March 2022, with Russia’s then-recent invasion of Ukraine amping up the geopolitical mood music, Biden issued a presidential determination that domestic mining of minerals for making large-capacity batteries is “essential to the national defense.” Under Title III of the Korean War-era Defense Production Act, the federal government can advance loans, grants or contracts to spur industries deemed critical to national security, with the definition of the latter having expanded a lot since the 1950s.