2 Korean Battery Makers Settle Dispute That Threatened Biden's Green Agenda

[TomCADem]

Source: MSN/NY Times

Georgia’s politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, had been pressuring the president to act on their state’s behalf. Gov. Brian Kemp wrote to the president last month asking him to veto the commission’s decision for the sake of Georgia’s economy and the thousands of jobs that would be created at the battery plant.

“I congratulate both companies for working through their significant differences to resolve this dispute, which builds confidence in their reliability and responsibility as suppliers to the U.S. auto industry,” the trade representative, Katherine Tai, said in a statement on the settlement.

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The trade commission’s decision would have excluded SK from the domestic American market while allowing the company to fulfill existing contracts to Ford and Volkswagen. But the plant in Commerce, Ga., is still under construction, and SK expressed hesitation on continuing to build it given that it would be unable to do additional business.

LG countered that SK overstated its importance to the domestic battery supply and suggested that another company would purchase the plant in Georgia if SK abandoned it. But any disruption to the plans in Georgia could have been a problem for American automakers and the administration, as the international battery supply for electric vehicles is already strained and the administration’s green energy transition plans rely on expanding the use and production of electric vehicles.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/2-korean-battery-makers-settle-dispute-that-threatened-biden-s-green-agenda/ar-BB1fxnuw?ocid=msedgdhp

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Interesting how Republican Governors in two states were taking opposite sides in the dispute with DeWine in Ohio urging the U.S. not to veto the decision, which would give LG plants in Ohio and advantage, and Kemp in Georgia urging the U.S. to veto the decision.

It seems like the Biden administration thread the needle on this one between two States with Republican governors.

[JohnnyRingo]

1. That LG plant, Ultium Batteries, is about 20 miles from here

...and my grandkids will need good union jobs so I have a dog in this hunt.

GM is part owner of Ultium, and them & the UAW work hand in hand.
Georgia will help assure SK of cheap disposable labor.

[Marcuse]

2. EV production is no panacea yet. I wouldn't want to live next door.

Recycling electric vehicle batteries at the end of the product life cycle is seen as the greenest option. Many of the components of the standard lithium ion EV battery - like nickel, cobalt, copper, and lithium - can be salvaged and reused. These materials can be resold at a high market value, making dumping EV batteries into landfills a poor environmental and economic policy.

However, only as much as 5% of lithium-ion batteries are recycled in the European Union. And in some cases, damaged lithium-ion batteries can let out toxic fumes, which are severely harmful to humans. Elements like lithium and cobalt, essential to the production of these batteries, are becoming increasingly in demand and their difficult extraction pollutes the surrounding environment.[link:https://www.era-environmental.com/blog/environmental-management-electric-vehicle-batteries|

[IbogaProject]

3. Toyota's batteries from the Prius have exceeded expectations

Toyota's batteries from the Prius have exceeded expectations for longevity. I have also read that many of these can still be used for green energy storage after their use for transport is done.