美國交通運輸部長希望打破中國電動汽車電池據點

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

US Transport Chief Wants to Break China’s EV Battery Stronghold

Haslinda Amin

Sun, June 18, 2023 at 2:04 a.m. PDT

(Bloomberg) -- Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the US must take steps to cut into China’s advantage in batteries used to power electric vehicles, saying building the refining capacity for key materials is “addressable.”

The US needs to build relationships domestically and internationally for raw materials and refining capacity, Buttigieg said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Sunday. He is in Ise-Shima, Japan for a meeting Group of Seven counterparts.

“Refining capacity on many of the key materials for EV battery components is very concentrated in China,” he said. The US has to ensure it is “positioning to have an economically sensible, environmentally sensible and geopolitically stable approach to how we’re going to get these vitally important elements in our economy that are only to grow in importance.”

Chinese firms account for more than half of the EV battery market and satisfy as much as 90% of demand for some battery materials, according to BloombergNEF. Those economies of scale have made it almost impossible for US and European automakers to match the efficiency of their Chinese rivals.

Ford Motor Co. and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., the world’s biggest maker of batteries for electric vehicles, plan to build a battery plant in Michigan. Bloomberg News reported in February that China will scrutinize the agreement to ensure the Chinese company’s core technology isn’t handed over to the US carmaker.

While Beijing is pleased the deal showcases China’s prowess in the EV battery space, officials are concerned that competitive aspects of CATL’s technology could be given to or accessed by the American automaker, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named discussing Chinese government deliberations.

Translation

（彭博社） - 交通部長 Pete Buttigieg 表示，美國必須採取措施削弱中國在電動汽車電池方面的優勢，並表示建設關鍵材料的提煉力是 “可以解決的”。

Buttigieg 週日在接受彭博電視台採訪時表示，美國需要在原材料和提煉能力方面建立國內和國際關係。 他正在日本伊勢志摩參加七國集團會議。

他說:“電動汽車電池組件的許多關鍵材料的精煉能力都非常集中在中國”。 美國必須確保“採取一種經濟上合理、環境上合理, 且地緣政治上穩定的方法來獲取在我們經濟中這些至關重要的元素，而且這些元素的重要性只會越來越大。”

據彭博新能源財經報導，中國企業佔據了電動汽車電池市場一半以上的份額，並滿足了某些電池材料高達 90% 的需求。 這些規模經濟使得美國和歐洲汽車製造商幾乎不可能與中國競爭對手的效率相匹配。

福特汽車公司和全球最大的電動汽車電池製造商 Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL)計劃在密歇根州建設一座電池工廠。 彭博新聞社二月份報導稱，中國將審查該協議，以確保中國公司的核心技術不會移交給這家美國汽車製造商。

因討論中國政府的審議而要求不透露姓名的知情人士表示，雖然北京方面很高興這筆交易展示了中國在電動汽車電池領域的實力，但官員們擔心 CATL 的被受競爭部分可能會被授予或被這家美國汽車製造商獲取。

So, currently, the refining capacity on many of the key materials for EV battery components is concentrated in China. The US holds the opinion that they must get hold of these vitally important elements in order to compete with China.

Note:

According to the US department of transport, Pete Buttigieg serves as the 19th Secretary of Transportation, having been sworn in on February 3, 2021. His focus as Secretary is to deliver the world’s leading transportation system for the American people and economy. (https://www.transportation.gov/meet-secretary/secretary-pete-buttigieg)