Li-ion battery makers appeal to Congress for $1bn in aid

There’s a lot of money going out the door for the auto makers (well, maybe) and more so for the finance business, so I think it’s wise for some of the less bubble-orientated sectors to point out now just how little they need to establish or reinvigorate themselves. Public radio could use a boost, space programs are comparatively cheap, and now a consortium of battery makers is asking for a paltry $1bn to help get the ball rolling on US-based next-generation battery manufacturing.

After all, in five years, what use will having an American auto business be if they have to buy all their most important parts from China? There are four dozen next-gen battery manufactories being built there right now, and zero here in the States. The group of companies, including the likes of 3M, hopes to avoid total Asian dominance of a field upon which the existence of perhaps an entire industry is staked.