John Petersen

Will the U.S. Move From Arab Oil Dependence to Asian Battery Dependence?

I agree that the alliance proposal is worthy of a golden trough award but disagree about the importance of domestic battery manufacturing. The hard fact is that alliances shift over time, but more importantly batteries are components. If a component manufacturer in Asia has a choice between selling batteries to somebody who is making a finished product in Asia or somebody who wants to make products in the U.S., the Asian manufacturer will get priority because home country industrial policy will force the issue. Once all of the home country demand for batteries that will be used cellphones, MP3 players, laptops, electric bicycles, hybrid scooters and HEVs is satisfied, any excess will be exported. But component export will always be at the bottom of the food chain.

I also think that using li-ion to power a car is like using 5,000 hamsters to pull a stagecoach, but that's another debate altogether.