The U.S.-based anode materials division of the battery technology company that was spun out of a Dalhousie University lab will receive a portion of the US$2.8-billion the U.S. energy department has earmarked for electric vehicle battery manufacturing. (The Logic)

Talking point: The money—part of the Biden administration’s US$1-trillion bipartisan infrastructure law—is meant to boost extraction and processing of lithium, graphite, nickel and other battery materials in at least 12 U.S. states. It comes amid a push to shift consumers away from gas-powered cars and towards EVs and strengthen the domestic supply chain. Novonix, led by former senior Tesla engineer Chris Burns and battery scientist Jeff Dahn, also received federal support in Canada recently, albeit much smaller than Biden’s commitment. In March, Ottawa granted the firm $1 million to expand its cathode material business with a 35,000-square-foot pilot plant in Nova Scotia. Piedmont Lithium—a North Carolina-based firm with a 25 per cent stake in Sayona’s Quebec lithium mine—was also selected for a US$142-million grant, and a subsidiary of TSX-listed nickel miner Talon is getting roughly US$115 million for a North Dakota processing plant.