Chinese Battery Firms Face Two Challenges: IP Disputes and the U.S. Political Climate
High-quality, low-cost batteries — used to power clean technologies such as electric vehicles and energy storage — are crucial for the green transition and the prosperity it has the potential to facilitate. They also happen to be made primarily by Chinese companies.
While the Biden administration attributes Chinese firms’ success in the space to “unfair, non-market practices,” the industry has also benefited from the fact that China has an underdeveloped traditional auto market compared to the United States. As a result, Chinese consumers have been more eager to shift from internal combustion engine cars to inexpensive, domestically-made electric vehicles.
Whatever its origin, China’s success in the sector is significant enough that, according to Bloomberg NEF, it currently makes enough lithium-ion batteries to meet all global demand. But to American lawmakers, that success story represents nothing more than an additional layer — which they plan to crack — in the comprehensive national security threat Chinese firms pose.
Read the article via Forbes here.