Can the US battery market untangle from China?

P1 句1The US is hitting records for the rapid growth of its energy storage market.律10 句2That'll go a long way to shoring up the grid, increasing reliability and also cutting emissions, since batteries can help store energy from intermittent renewables like wind and solar.律9

P2 句3Crucially, this is all happening with the help of cheap Chinese batteries, though there's been a concerted effort to reduce the US's reliance on them.律5 句4Most recently, in an executive order in late August, the Trump administration declared a national emergency that essentially bans Chinese batteries from being used in grid-scale energy storage systems.律1

P3 句5There's an argument to be made about reducing reliance on any single source of a crucial energy technology.律5 句6But all this tension raises a broader question for me: How much should countries take advantage of cheap, available tech, versus cutting off major sources to force development of their own factories even if that comes at a higher cost?律6

P4 句7This is hardly America's first push to move away from Chinese influence in the battery supply chain.律5 句8One of the major policy tools used in recent years is restricting the tax credits designed to incentivize use of the new technologies.律7 句9Limiting the types of projects that are eligible can help reduce the cost of local technologies so they're more competitive with otherwise cheaper imported options.律8

P5 句10Back in 2022, the US government designed the tax credits that were part of the Inflation Reduction Act to restrict where a battery's minerals could be mined, processed, or recycled, as well as where a battery and its components were assembled.律3律7

P6 句11Those tax credits underwent a makeover in 2025, but the Trump administration has taken a similar tack.律5 句12New legislation requires that starting in 2026, 55% of the cost of materials used for new energy storage projects must come from outside China and other restricted countries or the projects won't qualify for tax credits.律3律9

P7 句13And we can't forget about tariffs.律5 句14Import taxes for batteries increased to 25% in January, up from 7.5%.律3律8

P8 句15But the new executive order is a more drastic move.律5 句16It bans the installation of "any foreign-produced bulk-power system electric equipment" that poses a national security risk.律1 句17The order specifically calls out battery energy storage systems, as well as inverters and transformers.律7

P9 句18"An outright ban was a bit of a surprise, and it does create a bit of concern for domestic players in the US," says Shan Tomouk, energy storage and energy lead for Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, an energy industry analyst.律2律4

P10 句19The move is likely to slow deployment of grid-connected energy storage projects in the near term, according to analysis from BloombergNEF, an energy consultancy.律4 句20Projects could face delays as developers wait for clarity on the rules.律9

P11 句21Depending on the detailed guidance from the Department of Energy, which is expected by the end of the year, some projects may need to find alternative sources for their cells, whether they're domestically produced or imported from other countries.律9 句22These will likely be more expensive than Chinese imports, says Isshu Kikuma, an energy storage analyst at BloombergNEF. "Worst case, those projects could get canceled," he says.律2律4律10

1984 · Chapter 1(第一页)

S1 句1It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.律3律10 句2Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him.律9

S2 句3The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats.律7 句4At one end of it a coloured poster, too large for indoor display, had been tacked to the wall.律1 句5It depicted simply an enormous face, more than a metre wide: the face of a man of about forty-five, with a heavy black moustache and ruggedly handsome features.律7律8 句6Winston made for the stairs.律2 句7It was no use trying the lift.律4律5 句8Even at the best of times it was seldom working, and at present the electric current was cut off during daylight hours.律5 句9It was part of the economy drive in preparation for Hate Week.律1 句10The flat was seven flights up, and Winston, who was thirty-nine and had a varicose ulcer above his right ankle, went slowly, resting several times on the way.律3律9 句11On each landing, opposite the lift-shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall.律2 句12It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move.律9 句13BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran.律6

S3 句14Inside the flat a fruity voice was reading out a list of figures which had something to do with the production of pig-iron.律7 句15The voice came from an oblong metal plaque like a dulled mirror which formed part of the surface of the right-hand wall.律1律8 句16Winston turned a switch and the voice sank somewhat, though the words were still distinguishable.律5 句17The instrument (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely.律1律5 句18He moved over to the window: a smallish, frail figure, the meagreness of his body merely emphasized by the blue overalls…律10