The USA batteries Act was re-introduced into Congress by Republican congressman Dan Meuser on 13 February. His third attempt immediately drew approval from Battery Council International (BCI), the industry body representing over 160 member firms across the world.
The legislation was last unsuccessfully introduced during the last Congress. It would remove excise taxes on lead oxide, antimony and sulphuric acid. These taxes were implemented through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021.
BCI also suggests the US government should strengthen US battery companies over competitors supported by foreign governments.
It highlights supply chain issues, especially access to critical minerals, as a serious issue.
BCI’s policy recommendations:
- Maintain Section 45X advanced manufacturing provision. A tax credit BCI said helps domestic battery producers grow.
- Support key Department of Energy (DOE) programmes. The department is critical to battery research and American innovation, and research undertaken at National Laboratories helps improve battery chemistries, said BCI. It called for more strategic research partnerships between the DOE and battery companies.
- Collaboration between the US Department of Labour and BCI on workplace safety regulations. BCI wants businesses to develop own standards, avoiding “intrusive regulation on plant management.”
- Keep workers safe and protect domestic supply chains. A circular economy for lead batteries has already been established, with eight billion pounds of spent lead batteries collected for recycling annually, it said. Improper labelling allows lithium-ion batteries to arrive at lead-acid recycling centres. This poses safety issues, concerns over quality of recycled materials and damage to recycling equipment.
BCI supports both a labelling law and the Environment Protection Agency’s efforts for voluntary regulation of recycling and labelling.
It supports a national labelling standard consistent with that for lead batteries under the Mercury- Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management Act. But it opposes “overreaching labelling” it sees in the European Union.
