最新杏吧原创

ST. LOUIS 鈥� U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, during a visit to 最新杏吧原创 on Tuesday, touted an Israeli firm鈥檚 plans to manufacture a key component for electric vehicle batteries in the city.

The Department of Energy is backing 鈥� to produce lithium iron phosphate for batteries 鈥� with a nearly $200 million grant to specialty minerals company ICL Group, whose U.S. headquarters is located in 最新杏吧原创.

The grant was authorized by the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The project at the company鈥檚 current location in 最新杏吧原创鈥� Carondelet neighborhood is expected to create 150 new jobs.

While China has dominated lithium iron phosphate battery production, electric automakers in North America are increasingly transitioning to the technology over nickel and cobalt batteries in an effort to cut costs, according to .

Mining for the metals has also raised environmental and child labor concerns.

Ford, Rivian and Volkswagen have all said they would incorporate lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, into new North American models, Chemical and Engineering News reported, with Tesla leading the way in announcing its shift to LFP batteries in 2021.

Granholm, speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility, tied the federal investment to the Biden administration鈥檚 goal of transitioning to 100% clean energy by 2035.

鈥淚f we can figure out how to crack the code, to reduce the cost of those critical materials, maybe by using some more abundant materials, like iron for example, then we can really bring down the price of electric vehicles and have more people driving them,鈥� Granholm said.

She said that while China decided it would 鈥渃orner the market鈥� on a number of clean energy technologies, President Joe Biden, a Democrat, had made it a priority to onshore the clean energy supply chain.

鈥淓nough of other countries cornering the market because they have a strategy,鈥� Granholm said. 鈥淲e want the full supply chain of these clean energy products.鈥�

Phil Brown, an ICL managing director, said the project represents the first commercial-scale plant in North America 鈥渇or this critical component required by the energy-storage, mobility and infrastructure end-markets.鈥�

Gov. Mike Parson, who joined Granholm at the event, said in regard to energy 鈥渋f you鈥檙e not in, you鈥檙e going to get left behind. ... I鈥檓 going to do everything I can to make sure that Missouri is (as) competitive as we can be in that energy market when it comes to the battery situation.鈥�

The energy secretary defended electric vehicles when asked about the environmental costs of battery production.

鈥淒riving an electric vehicle is much better for the environment,鈥� Granholm said. 鈥淲e want to get the full supply chains here, and that includes responsible extraction of critical minerals in addition to finding alternatives to the critical minerals that are difficult to obtain in the United States.鈥�

Looking at nuclear legacy

Granholm later visited the Weldon Spring Site Interpretative Center, where she met with U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-最新杏吧原创. In a statement after the meeting, which was closed to the media, Bush said she had a 鈥済reat discussion ... to share our community鈥檚 concerns about the radioactive waste in 最新杏吧原创.鈥�

Residents have voiced fresh concerns about radioactive contamination in the region following recent news reports and public meetings.

State Rep. Tricia Byrnes, R-Wentzville, said in a letter last week to the Environmental Protection Agency that the Department of Energy has managed the Weldon Spring site with 鈥渁 long-standing disregard for the concerns of Missouri state agencies and our residents.鈥�

Granholm said there was 鈥渘o doubt鈥� 最新杏吧原创-area sites need to be cleaned up, and that 鈥渨e鈥檝e got to make sure that people feel safe.鈥�

But Granholm said she wasn鈥檛 sure of the Biden administration鈥檚 position on expanding an existing nuclear radiation exposure program to cover local residents. A measure to do so by U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., has cleared the Senate.

Hawley鈥檚 measure, which has yet to pass the House, would provide reimbursement to people with a medical condition linked to nuclear radiation exposure and who were 鈥減hysically present in an affected area鈥� 鈥� defined by 20 ZIP codes 鈥� for at least two years after Jan. 1, 1949. The ZIP code areas cover most of north 最新杏吧原创 County, the north riverfront area of 最新杏吧原创 and a large swath of St. Charles County around Weldon Spring.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 speak for the administration on that particular piece because I just don鈥檛 know the answer, but it certainly is something we鈥檙e looking at for sure to bring justice to families that have been affected,鈥� Granholm said.