WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA) applauded  today’s White House report on supply chain resilience. The report was commissioned by President Biden as part of a series of Executive Orders signed in his first 100 Days.  The Administration directed Agencies across the federal government to assess vulnerabilities, and work to strengthen the resilience of critical supply chains.

The report cited electric vehicles (EVs) as “a critical driver of the demand for lithium-ion batteries and are the primary market focus when outlining the need for domestic lithium-ion battery manufacturing.”

In line with ZETA’s federal advocacy to enact policies that drive EV adoption, the report stated that “government policies are needed to incentivize every stage of the U.S. battery supply chain including boosting demand for products like EVs and stationary storage that use high-capacity batteries.” The report also states that “strong demand for end products can unlock benefits from co-location (e.g., cost and flexibility benefits from placing battery pack and cell manufacturing near EV demand) and provide a foundation from which to compete in global markets.”

“We are pleased to see the Administration focus on ways we can make supply chains more resilient, diverse and secure,” said ZETA Executive Director Joe Britton. “If fully implemented, the recommendations outlined in this report are certain to set us on a path for sustainable development that will benefit not only electric vehicles, but our entire clean energy economy. It’s paramount for Congress to now advance the policies that will drive consumer adoption of EVs called for in this report.”

In May, under the leadership of Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, the Senate advanced a suite of policies that support many of the report’s recommendations. In particular, ZETA applauds ongoing efforts by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senators Debbie Stabenow and Maria Cantwell and Rep. Dan Kildee to reform and optimize federal EV consumer incentives as well as bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Tom Carper and Richard Burr to expand the federal charging incentive to expedite deployment of infrastructure to support a robust EV transition.

Additionally, Senators Joe Manchin , Stabenow , and Steve Daines have introduced bipartisan legislation that would incentivize domestic manufacturing of advanced energy technologies with targeted investment in rural communities across America that have suffered from a decline in manufacturing and traditional energy sector jobs. ZETA is also encouraged by Senators Wyden, Stabenow and Michael Bennet’s announced plans to provide federal support to accelerate manufacturing investments in climate-mitigating technologies, including EVs, EV charging, and batteries.

“We’re encouraged to see this level of attention at the federal level in securing the domestic supply chain,” Britton added. “We will continue to work with Congress to ensure the incentives to boost demand called for in this report are realized.”