The Biden administration has been trying to jump-start the domestic supply chain for electric vehicles so cleaner cars can be made in the United States.
But the experience of one Texas company, whose plans to help make an all-American electric vehicle were upended by China, highlights the stakes involved as the administration finalizes rules governing the industry.
Huntsman Corporation started construction two years ago on a $50 million plant in Texas to make ethylene carbonate, a chemical that is used in electric vehicle batteries.
It would have been the only site in North America making the product, with the goal of feeding battery factories that would crop up to serve the electric vehicle market.
But as new facilities in China came online and flooded the market, the price of the chemical plummeted to $700 a ton from $4,000.
Persons:
Biden, ”, Peter R, Huntsman, “ I’d
Organizations:
Huntsman Corporation
Locations:
United States, Texas, China, North America