BCI briefing for legislators focuses on aiding domestic battery manufacturers

Battery Council International (BCI), Washington, has published a briefing for legislators that provides recommendations to create jobs, support domestic battery manufacturers and defend the domestic economy from what it calls “unfair foreign competition.”

Nearly all American businesses rely on batteries in their everyday operations, according to BCI, citing its own 2024 report that claims the domestic battery industry directly supports $8.1 trillion in economic output—roughly 20 percent of the U.S. economy—with about 48 million jobs dependent on batteries.

“We are at a critical juncture for energy storage, with new innovations and steadily rising demand along with intense competition and a concentration of key minerals in the hands of foreign nations,” BCI President and Executive Director Roger Miksad says. “Maintaining a strong domestic industrial base for U.S. battery supply chains is critical to the American economy, as well as national security.”

In its briefing document, “The U.S. Domestic Battery Manufacturing Industry: Producers of Industrial and Automotive Starter Batteries,” BCI and its members ask Congress to protect the nation’s energy storage infrastructure through five specific policy actions in three key areas.

Two of the policy actions BCI highlights are related to manufacturing and include ensuring the existing Section 45 provision remains in place as a tool for domestic battery manufacturers to protect and grow their operations and eliminating punitive excise taxes on strategic battery raw materials to support domestic battery manufacturing by passing the USA Batteries Act.

Recently reintroduced by Congressman Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, the USA Batteries Act seeks to repeal the superfund chemical tax in the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act, which affects substances used in lead battery manufacturing. The bill would eliminate the tax on lead oxide, antimony and sulfuric acid, which are the primary inputs used in lead batteries.

In its briefing, BCI calls on Congress to support key Department of Energy programs, saying they help spur innovation and growth in domestic battery technologies, including research and development as well as partnership with national laboratories.

Safety is the focus of two of BCI’s policy suggestions. The organization calls for increased collaboration between the Department of Labor and BCI experts to develop workplace safety regulations that are feasible and based on the best available real-world data. Also, BCI writes that legislators should support the Environmental Protection Agency’s labeling initiative to facilitate collection and sorting improvements for safer battery recycling.

“Domestic manufacturers ensure U.S. battery demand can be met reliably, safely and with domestic production sources,” Miksad says. “The modern economy simply can’t run without reliable energy storage, and BCI’s policy recommendations will ensure U.S. supply chains remain strong and independent for many years to come.”