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The US has issued a call for experts to join a new committee being set up to advise the federal government on lithium-ion battery transportation safety.

Transportation secretary Elaine Chao (pictured) said the government is looking to recruit “experts from diverse technical and transportation backgrounds to evaluate safety improvements”.

Batteries should be included on a “breakthrough technology shortlist” in preparation for a much-needed overhaul of US energy policy, according to an expert report.

Increased federal funding and private investment is needed to support an expansion of battery storage and other technologies “deemed to have very high breakthrough potential”— such as hydrogen, ‘smart grids’ and advanced nuclear, the ‘Advancing the Landscape of Clean Energy Innovation’ report said.

The US is also recommended to establish an “impartial entity to closely monitor” supplies of lithium, cobalt, graphite and other critical materials, which are “becoming strategic resources for enabling a clean energy future”.

Bulgarian lead-acid battery manufacturer Monbat has signed a licensing rights agreement with US bipolar battery tech company Advanced Battery Concepts (ABC).

Monbat has acquired rights to the “full suite” of GreenSeal bipolar led battery technologies, ABC said.

CEO and chairman of Monbat Atanas Bobokov said his company had “seen the competitive advantages GreenSeal offers lead battery manufacturers… and envisaged many potential applications” for the technology.