Thanks for pointing out the irony/absurdity in this, Adam. Unfortunately this line of reasoning probably finds fertile soil in the minds of most these days, given how worried folks are about losing their jobs/the dwindling US economic status/energy independence/etc. Companies like AltairNano and A123 Systems are well on their way to coming up with excellent alternatives to traditional Lithium-ion batteries that outperform anything we have used to-date. Hopefully Intel and the rest of this consortium can find ways to privately invest in these companies so that they make it to large-scale production more quickly.

I would agree that congressional funding in the name of battery protectionism is a dubious premise. However, we should consider the environmental costs of having those heavy, bulky batteries (and cars) shipped across the oceans. As it stands today, the U.S. lost to Asia in battery manufacturing capabilities. This is fine, as long as the externalities created by shipping them to us are not greater than the financial benefit. Additionally, if the cost of the batteries (due to trade tariffs/costs) remain too high, then the U.S. will not adopt the technology without continuing government subsidies like the PHEV subsidy included in the 2008 energy act. Lastly, we need to think beyond Lithium carbonate which doesn't grow on trees, rather it exists in most rocks. It is most plentiful in South America, but it won't last forever. The battery consortium can work on more than just lithium batteries. Do they need more demand stimulation than is provided by the energy act PHEV tax credit? Tough to say.

We could go from dependent on "foreign oil" to dependent on South America and the mining issues there. Most lithium comes from South America, where the cheapest extraction method evaporates salty brine in ponds lined with toxic PVC. And in lithium-rich regions of Chile, mining the material uses two-thirds of the area's drinking water.

A promising start up in the USA may provide a "made in the USA" solution in the future. Search "Sinbol Mining" for info on a privately held firm planning to use waste from geothermal wells.

Making batteries is a messy business. In the past we've simply moved plants to nations which tolerate the pollution and unhealthy working conditions required to make batteries inexpensively. I'm all for making them here, under our more strict pollution and safety controls. Of course, they'll cost more, but maybe the new process/Li-ion replacement is cleaner and safer to manufacture. Maybe it's even cheaper (until it's cloned in China, anyway).

The end result has to be some sort of requirement/regulation that the products we use are manufactured in an environmentally (both human and planet) friendly way. Then the playing field will be more level and in the process we end up with a cleaner planet. I think the EU is moving towards this kind of legislation.

Supporting a domestic EV battery industry makes a lot of sense, and lithium is only one technology--a vibrant industry ought to be able to come up with better options. I've had my hands on an A123 Li-ion battery for 3 weeks now, and it's performed admirably so far. I get 30 miles of approximately 100 mpg driving per 5-hour charge. America needs millions of cars with batteries as good as that! Subsidizing a battery plant sounds like a pretty good public investment to me.