"The prize: batteries that would be cheaper, faster to charge and less vulnerable to raw material shortages. Whoever gets there first will have a major advantage."
"WOBURN, Mass. — Already far behind Asian manufacturers in building electric car batteries, U.S. automakers and their suppliers are racing to develop a new generation of batteries that are cheaper, can pack in more energy and charge faster.
It is a global contest with huge economic consequences for automakers, small battery start-ups and car buyers, who in a few years will choose from a dizzying array of electric cars that use different kinds of batteries as the combustion engine era recedes.
The chemical makeup of batteries — a technical subject that was the province of engineers — has become one of the hottest topics of discussion in the corporate boardrooms of General Motors, Toyota, Ford Motor and Volkswagen, as well as in the White House.
With financial and technological support from the government, these giant companies are embracing start-ups working to remake the battery so they are not left behind by the industrial revolution unleashed by the electric car."
Jack Ewing and Eric Lipton report for the New York Times March 7, 2022.
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