DOE launches BattMan to close battery supply chain gap by 2030

US battery demand is projected to nearly quadruple from 179 GWh in 2025 to 707 GWh in 2035, and the Department of Energy wants a domestic supply chain ready to serve it by 2030. DOE Assistant Secretary Audrey Robertson announced the Battery Manufacturing Accelerator, or BattMan, in a statement to Utility Dive on Wednesday. The initiative aims to strengthen domestic supply chains for battery materials and components, cut manufacturing costs and shorten commercialization timelines.

The demand forecast comes from a June Bloomberg NEF analysis, which DOE cited in a white paper published last month, "A National Strategy for American Leadership in Batteries." A caveat belongs here: BNEF projections are scenario-based, and the DOE document did not publish the assumptions behind the 707 GWh figure.

How dependent is the US on China?

Heavily, by DOE's own accounting. China controls between 60% and 100% of global production capacity across several critical stages of battery materials and component manufacturing, Robertson said by email. That share, she said, "represents a serious vulnerability for American industry and national security."

DOE data from 2024 show China and other Asian countries host nearly all global lithium-ion cathode, anode and separator manufacturing. They also hold nearly 93% of electrolyte manufacturing. The white paper states this dependence "poses substantial supply chain risks."

The department also flagged a structural gap: recent investments in US cell and pack manufacturing have not been matched by investment in precursor component production. That admission is notable. Congress and DOE have funded gigafactories for years, while upstream inputs stayed offshore. Robertson was blunt: "We have substantial work to do to secure the materials and manufacturing capabilities [lithium-ion batteries] require."

Who runs the consortium?

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory leads BattMan, with backing from DOE's Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation. Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the National Laboratory of the Rockies — formerly the National Renewable Energy Laboratory — are participants. University partners include the University of Alabama, Arizona State University, Binghamton University, the University of Michigan–Dearborn and the University of Washington.

Robertson said BattMan would expand the Trump administration's efforts to boost domestic sources of battery materials and components. The launch announcement did not include a budget figure, staffing level or interim milestones. A 2030 target without published funding is an intention, not yet a capacity plan.

What are the three objectives?

DOE says the consortium will pursue three goals:

• Establish a "mine-to-market" domestic supply chain by 2030.
• Develop batteries that are "more affordable, longer lasting, higher performing, and less reliant on critical minerals."
• Scale deployment of advanced battery technologies in sectors critical to national security.

"We're excited about technologies that use more abundant domestic materials, reduce dependence on foreign supply chains, and can be manufactured competitively here in the United States," Robertson said.

Is there money behind it?

Some. In August, DOE announced $500 million for seven projects expanding US critical minerals processing, battery manufacturing and recycling. Recipients include a California company expanding lithium-ion anode production with US-sourced materials, and a firm piloting batteries using ultra-thin lithium-metal films and "prelithiated" material. The latter, Robertson said, "could enable higher-energy, faster-charging batteries."

Seven projects against 93% offshore electrolyte capacity puts the scale problem in perspective.

According to PNNL, BattMan will target barriers that have kept promising US-developed storage technologies from commercial scale. Its stated methods include a "cost-focused" R&D strategy that accounts for performance, manufacturability and scalability up front; platform technologies applicable to all storage chemistries beyond lithium-ion; digital twins and AI-enabled manufacturing tools; and data-driven validation frameworks for emerging technologies.

What to watch next

Watch for BattMan's first project awards and any published budget. The test is whether precursor component investment follows the cell-plant billions. The 2030 mine-to-market deadline gives DOE roughly five years to close a gap two decades in the making, and demand from data centers — potentially one-quarter of US battery demand by 2030, per Benchmark Mineral Intelligence — will not wait for it.