Global demand for electric vehicles (EVs) is on the rise, and with it demand for EV batteries and the key minerals needed to produce them. China is the world’s fourth-largest producer of lithium — perhaps the most important EV component of all — and is far-and-away the #1 lithium processor, giving it a critical edge over the U.S. and its democratic, capitalist trading partners as EV production and sales ramp up. The Biden administration and Congress have been taking a number of steps to enable the U.S. and its compadres to reduce — with an aim to end — our dependence on Chinese batteries going forward. One recent move by the U.S. was to provide EV subsidies only to vehicles whose batteries and battery components come from the U.S., Canada or other countries we can depend on through thick and thin. But much more substantial advances need to be made to encourage lithium production if there’s to be any hope of securing a significant portion of the minerals expected to be required for an energy transition. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss these efforts and the challenges the U.S. and its friends face in becoming “EV-battery independent.”
The pace at which American drivers switch from internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, SUVs and pickups to EVs is much more than an idle curiosity to U.S. crude oil producers and refiners. If EV adoption is fast and furious, domestic demand for gasoline and diesel could begin to decline — but if EV adoption is slow and sluggish, the decline in motor fuel demand would be much more gradual. The proliferation of EVs would make Americans even more dependent on an electric grid that is increasingly under stress to meet today’s demand, never mind the extra demand from widespread EV charging. And despite the addition of a large number of wind farms and solar facilities in recent years, that grid is still powered primarily by fossil fuels (mostly natural gas and coal).
For these and other reasons, we’ve been monitoring developments in the EV space for some time now in stand-alone blogs like Electric Avenue and blog series like One Shining Moment, where (in Part 3) we discussed the gains in global EV sales in 2021 and 2022, the potentially market-moving government incentives for EVs in the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and the slew of new U.S. battery-manufacturing plants announced by Honda, LG Energy Solution, Tesla, Panasonic, Toyota and Our Next Energy this year. We’ve also posted a four-part series, Tell It Like It Is, on the very serious challenges the U.S. and the rest of the world face in developing, producing and processing the astonishing volumes of minerals, metals and other materials that will be needed to make the energy transition a reality.
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About the song
“With a Little Help from My Friends” was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and appears as the second song on side one of The Beatles’ eighth studio album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Lennon and McCartney wrote the tune for Ringo Starr to sing on the album. They recorded the song in March 1967 at EMI Studios in London the day before the band posed in their costumes for the Sgt. Pepper album cover shoot. The song has been covered by many artists, with the most popular one being Joe Cocker, who sang it while making his presence felt at the Woodstock Musical Festival in 1969, and the documentary film that followed the event. Cocker released his version on a single in the UK in October 1968; it went to #1 on the UK Singles chart. Personnel on The Beatles’ version were: Ringo Starr (lead vocals, drums, tambourine), Paul McCartney (bass, piano, backing vocals), John Lennon (rhythm guitar, cowbell, backing vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, backing vocals), and George Martin (Hammond organ).
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was recorded between November 1966 and April 1967 at EMI Studios and Regent Sound in London, with George Martin producing. It was released in May 1967 and went to #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and all album charts worldwide. It has been certified 11x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and has sold more than 32 million copies worldwide. The LP won four Grammy Awards and remains one of the top-selling albums of all time. Released during the Summer of Love in 1967, it became a defining moment in pop culture, and helped solidify the album format as a legitimate art form. No singles were released from the LP.
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they changed the course of pop music and culture, becoming one of the most popular rock bands of all time. They released 17 studio albums, six live albums, 54 compilation albums, 36 EPs and 63 singles. The band has sold more than 600 million records worldwide. The Beatles have won numerous awards, including an Academy Award, seven Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards and Ivor Novello Awards, and are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame individually and as a band. The Beatles officially broke up in 1970, with all members going on to successful solo careers. John Lennon was murdered in December 1980 and George Harrison died in November 2001. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr still record and tour as solo artists.
