The Quest for American Battery Independence - Narrative Intelligence

Electric cars are here to stay– and will most likely dominate the automobile market in coming decades. But in place of gas, EVs not only need electricity, but a more expensive, sustainable battery that can power the entire vehicle. Enter the Coalition of American Battery Independence, or CABI, a group dedicated to supporting American development of EV battery manufacturing.

Supply chain issues caused by the pandemic have not only caused financial strain, it has also exacerbated the need for more manufacturing and processing of raw materials to be done stateside.

This EdgeTheory narrative intelligence brief analyzes how the battery independence narrative is unfolding, the size of the conversation, and who's pushing the narratives.

One of the most prominent narratives associated with electric vehicles is Biden's recent $3.1 billion dollar allocation for electric vehicle batteries. The funding will go to U.S. manufacturers to build new factories or renovate old ones to accommodate the production of EV batteries. "Biden's order" was mentioned 75 times in association with articles covering this narrative.

Both right and left leaning outlets are covering the electric battery narrative, with the left (49 amplifications) having a slight edge over the right (37 amplifications).

With regard to CABI, many significant companies have signed on, including household names like GM, Ford, Tesla, among others. Keywords like "battery plant," "raw materials," and "natural resources" emphasize the move for companies to increase production of EV batteries in the United States.

According to Axios, the U.S. is well behind Europe and China in EV and EV battery production, so initiatives like Biden's and the newly formed CABI are imperative to keep America on track to be battery independent as the demand for EVs inevitably rises.

This narrative is sure to be a mainstay for the foreseeable future, and this narrative intelligence brief will update automatically as more stories emerge about electric cars and the batteries needed to power them.