Secretary Granholm hosted a roundtable with government, industry, and labor leaders to launch DOE's Battery Workforce Initiative, designed to lay the foundation for developing a modern force needed for the domestic battery supply chain.
December 12, 2022
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Battery Workforce Initiative Designed to Lay Foundation for Developing Labor Force necessary to Sustain Domestic Battery Supply Chain
DEARBORN, M.I.— Today, U.S. Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm hosted a roundtable with executive leadership from federal and local government, industry and labor to officially launch the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Battery Workforce Initiative – an effort designed to lay the foundation for developing a modern American labor force necessary to sustain the growth of a domestic battery supply chain.
During the roundtable, the participants discussed ways to build sustainable, trusted, and stronger relationships among industry stakeholders and how they can work together to develop the skilled workforce necessary to support the rapidly growing industry, which was given a huge boost with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Secretary applauded company and labor union participation in the Battery Workforce Initiative, and highlighted DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) announcement of a $2.5 billion loan closing to Ultium Cells to help finance the construction of new lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facilities in Ohio, Tennessee, and Michigan. Across the three new manufacturing facilities, 6,000 construction jobs and 5,100 permanent operations jobs are expected to be created. This latest loan closing by LPO reinforces President Biden’s efforts to strengthening American manufacturing and directly supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and having EVs make up half of all new vehicle sales by 2030.
The full list of attendees at today’s roundtable is as follows:
Government
- Julie Su, Deputy Secretary of U.S. Department of Labor
- Celeste Drake, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council for Labor and Economy, The White House
- Hon. Debbie Stabenow, United States Senator, Michigan
- Hon. Gary Peters, United States Senator, Michigan
- Zach Kolodin, Chief Infrastructure Officer, Office of Governor Whitmer
Labor
- Ray Curry, President, United Auto Workers
- Brad Markell, Executive Director, AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council & Working for America Institute
- Erica Fein, Government Affairs Specialist, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
- Phil Smith, Chief of Staff and Executive Assistant to the President, United Mine Workers of America
Industry
- John Bozzella, President and CEO, Alliance for Automotive Innovation
Vehicle Manufacturers
- Michael “Mickey” Bly, Senior Vice President - Head of Global Propulsion Systems, Stellantis
- Stephen Carlisle, Executive Vice President and President, North America, General Motors
- Christopher Smith, Chief Government Affairs Officer, Ford Motor Company
Battery Manufacturers
- Jay Bellows, President, KORE Power
- Mujeeb Ijaz, Founder & CEO, Our Next Energy (ONE)
- Joseph Mastrangelo, CEO, EOS Energy Enterprises
- Denise Gray, Head of External Affairs and Government Relations, North America, LG Energy Solution Michigan Inc.
- Jeffrey Warner, Vice President of Corporate & Government Affairs, Panasonic Corporation of North America
- Sei Won Chun, CEO, Samsung SDI America
- Thomas Gallagher, VP of Plant Operations, Ultium
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