US Battery Ambitions Struggle to Match China's Global Lead

The Trump administration’s $500 million DOE grant to seven battery-focused companies signals a step in strengthening the U.S. supply chain, but analysts say it is dwarfed by the scale and speed of China’s dominance—from refining to battery cells—and would take decades to close. China controls most refining, processing, and much of the materials for EVs, while U.S. EV adoption lags behind; with Biden-era policies rolled back in parts, the path to mass production and global competitiveness remains uncertain, though startups are pursuing on-site processing and domestically sourced materials as possible ways to reduce China’s chokehold.