The Department of Defense is offering hundreds of millions of dollars to add lithium, a key battery ingredient, to the nation’s military stockpile as the administration races to reduce reliance on China and avoid supply chain disruptions.
The solicitation is part of the Pentagon’s broader push to secure access and even produce the critical minerals needed to make everything from fighter jets to lasers, which China currently controls. The GOP megabill set aside $2 billion for the Pentagon to stockpile minerals.
The DOD’s Defense Logistics Agency, which oversees the National Defense Stockpile, is offering up to $300 million for more than 35 million pounds of battery-grade lithium carbonate over the next five years, according to a June 2 solicitation posted on a government website. Lithium carbonate is a chemical compound needed to make batteries used in electric vehicles and batteries.
Separately on Tuesday, the Canadian company Logan announced in a news release that it was awarded a $60 million Pentagon contract to provide vanadium pentoxide, which is used in energy storage systems.
