As demand for electrical energy storage scales, production networks for lithium-ion battery manufacturing are being re-worked organisationally and geographically. The UK - like the US and EU - is seeking to onshore lithium-ion battery production and build a national battery supply chain.
The U.S. government must take actions to enhance the expected returns on financial investments in U.S.‐based lithium battery supply chain‐related projects (e.g., battery materials, components, cells, or manufacturing equipment) and reduce the perception of demand uncertainty in the U.S. battery market.
This National Blueprint for Lithium Batteries, developed by the Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries will help guide investments to develop a domestic lithium-battery manufacturing value chain that creates equitable clean-energy manufacturing jobs in America while helping to mitigate climate change impacts.
Lithium-ion battery production is rapidly scaling up, as electromobility gathers pace in the context of decarbonising transportation. As battery output accelerates, the global production networks and supply chains associated with lithium-ion battery manufacturing are being re-worked organisationally and geographically (Bridge and Faigen 2022).
Lithium is not the only mineral element that matters for lithium-ion battery production, but it provides a specific lens for positioning the UK within evolving global lithium networks. Given the dynamic nature of developments in this space, our approach is illustrative rather than encyclopaedic.
The UK too is seeking to onshore global production networks for lithium-ion batteries (LiB) and build a domestic battery supply chain. The UK case is instructive as the geopolitical dynamics of onshoring centre on maintaining the UK's role as an automobile manufacturing platform in the post-Brexit period rather than a general ‘global race’.