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To further discuss the ongoing story of demand for lithium batteries for cars and trucks, business leaders want to make them domestically rather than rely on China, but legislators (the internal [D] Panda Huggers) are not in favor of using U.S. land to develop the critical resources for raw materials needed to make batteries.

• In the energy sector, affordable batteries are making it possible for companies to store electricity and harvest renewable power.
• In the auto industry, they are set to challenge the gas-powered engine’s century-long domination.
• Costs have come down so far and so fast that most car makers expect that electric vehicles, which are currently more expensive than their gas-powered counterparts, will cost the same amount to build within the next five years.
• Electric vehicles are currently the main source of demand for battery cells.
• As demand grows and costs fall further, batteries will become even more disruptive across industries. Batteries recently scored a win at General Motors Co., which said it hoped to phase out gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles from its showrooms world-wide by 2035.
• China currently dominates the market for producing electric-vehicle batteries.
• But as auto makers spend billions to build more plug-in models in the U.S., investors are increasing their bets on companies looking to expand the supply chain for batteries and related materials in North America—a region that has long relied on imports for such components.