🌐 The good news is that policy is an effective driving force in creating a sustainable energy future, globally.

I learned this when I was learning about city-level activism to mitigate climate change as a graduate student at University of California, Irvine. My friend and colleague, Dr. Ben Leffel, researched how cities in China, like Hefei, were shifting to be less polluting and more sustainable, and he found that when the local government made an impact by funding initiatives.

Now, we are seeing a similar impact of policy in Europe and the USA!

When the Inflation Reducation Act (IRA) was signed, it was a monumental moment! As the largest-ever investment in U.S. climate, clean energy, energy efficiency, and electrification, large investments, both public and private, were accelerating the push for clean, sustainable energy, driven at the federal level!

Of course, there’s not just the IRA making this impact. The CHIPS Act, Science Act, IIJA, and more are enabling the building of electrification infrastructure and technologies.

I had to share this awesome data display on the IRA and CHIPS and Science Act by Jack Conness!

It really shows how much these policies are impacting the US. ⚡

Challenges & Opportunities

With this influx of funding comes new challenges and opportunities:

1. Even with this funding, operations in the battery industry have very high CAPEX. Cell and battery manufacturing, battery recycling, and battery raw materials refining plants can cost upwards of $100M for scaled operations. While the funding can potentially carry a company through all or part of “the valley of death”, the company needs a strategy for long-term sustainability of its operations.
2. As companies start to build with this funding, they trend toward forming partnerships to get the job done: EPCs, consultants, cell technology companies, suppliers, vendors, equipment automation companies, and more. Keeping all teams aligned and on-time is a challenge, especially for newcomers and companies with siloed departments that need to work together.
   • Hiring an integration partner who understands batteries and the many aspects of factory construction and operation, like my team at Accenture, can ensure the project stakeholders are aligned and deliver the project on-time and within budget. Feel free to contact me for more information on how I can help!
3. While the policy incentivizes a sustainable, domestic supply chain, there are many aspects to compliance and to qualify for the incentives that companies must prepare for.
4. Speaking of supply chain, the budding battery supply chain in North America is in its early days. It’s US DOE priority to create a domestic, secure, and net-zero lithium-ion battery supply chain, and funding is supporting this effort. Companies will need to be strategic in procuring materials and cells with the surge in demand for these limited resources.
5. An increase in projects draws an increase in talent needs. Unfortunately, the US manufacturing workforce is not enough to fill all the 400,000+ job openings being created through the influx of funding. Companies need to find accessible ways to train their team, and incorporate inclusive practices to retain top diverse talent.
   • I teach engaging short courses on lithium-ion cell technology, perfect for bringing a technically trained team essential knowledge! Please do contact me if you’re interested in this training for your team!

Despite these challenges, I’m optimistic that electrification goals are within reach with this increased federal support. The impact of this funding in creating jobs, decreasing emissions, lowering pollution, and maximizing renewable energy storage and use is only beginning to be felt, and I look forward to it being the new norm!

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