Ford CEO Jim Farley says the US government needs to support domestic battery production and the rollout of public charging infrastructure. “We need to bring large-scale battery production to the US,” Farley said at a recent financial conference, adding that he planned to bring up the issue in upcoming talks with government leaders.

The coming wave of EVs will require massive supplies of batteries, and right now the lion’s share of global battery production belongs to Asian firms such as CATL, LG Chem and Panasonic. European governments are moving to break this stranglehold—the European Commission’s recent announcement of €2.9 billion in funding for battery innovation is just one of several initiatives aimed at increasing battery production on the continent.

Policy support for increased US battery production and better charging infrastructure for commercial vehicles will help drive demand for EVs, Farley said. He also warned of future battery bottlenecks. “We can’t go through what we’re doing now with chips,” he said, referring to the shortage of imported semiconductors that has forced several US automakers to pause production.

Source: Automotive News