China has outflanked the U.S. in global battery chess game March 25, 2022
“Contemporary Amperex Technology [CATL], the world's biggest manufacturer of electric-vehicle batteries, is scouting sites for a new $5 billion battery plant in North America. It's considering locations in Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. for an 80 gigawatt-hour plant that would supply Tesla as well as other EV makers, according to people familiar with the project.
The conventional wisdom is that China, with its state-led economic planning, has outflanked the U.S. in a global chess game that has put the latter's economic, energy and national security at risk. CATL, which has risen rapidly to become the global battery leader with the help of state backing, is the poster child for that strategy.”
“Jim Greenberger, the executive director of NAATBatt International … said he has no objection to a CATL plant in North America, so long as the company brings battery manufacturing technology and know-how to the U.S., not just low-wage assembly jobs. The U.S. should mimic China's joint ventures with western businesses.
‘The principle would be largely the same: we'll give you market access, and in exchange, you have to transfer tech to us and our people,’ he said. ‘That plants the seeds for future economic development that could be quite valuable.’ Battery cell design, manufacturing equipment, and factory operations all are areas where, as Greenberger sees it, the U.S. could use some tutoring.”
https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2022-03-25/china-electric-car-battery-champion-mostly-welcome-united-states-5477711.html