Battery Workforce Initiative Designed to Lay Foundation for Developing Labor Force necessary to Sustain Domestic Battery Supply Chain

Yesterday, U.S. Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm hosted a roundtable with executive leadership from federal and local government, industry and labor to officially launch the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Battery Workforce Initiative—an effort designed to lay the foundation for developing a modern American labor force necessary to sustain the growth of a domestic battery supply chain.

During the roundtable, the participants discussed ways to build sustainable, trusted, and stronger relationships among industry stakeholders and how they can work together to develop the skilled workforce necessary to support the rapidly growing industry, which was given a huge boost with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Secretary applauded company and labor union participation in the Battery Workforce Initiative, and highlighted DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) announcement of a $2.5 billion loan closing to Ultium Cells to help finance the construction of new lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facilities in Ohio, Tennessee, and Michigan. Across the three new manufacturing facilities, 6,000 construction jobs and 5,100 permanent operations jobs are expected to be created. This latest loan closing by LPO reinforces President Biden’s efforts to strengthening American manufacturing and directly supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and having EVs make up half of all new vehicle sales by 2030.

Read more.

Sign up to receive funding notices from EERE!

Subscribe to this email list to receive funding opportunity and prize announcements relevant to clean energy researchers, entrepreneurs, academics, professionals, and other stakeholders.