Biden wants to cut into China’s electric battery dominance

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — President Joe Biden highlighted his efforts to counter China’s dominance of the electric battery market as he touted domestic efforts to mine and process lithium and rare metals. The Democratic president on Tuesday said he is awarding $35 million to MP Materials. The Las Vegas-based company mines rare earth metals along California’s border with Nevada. The money will help MP improve its capabilities to process the metals domestically. The metals are used in magnets that go into electric batteries. Biden also touted efforts to extract lithium from around Southern California’s Salton Sea. Lithium is another key element used in electric batteries.