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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: US EV production
HEADLINE: Remote Washington Town a Hub for EV Battery Production
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: 01/31/2024 at 9am
BYLINE: Natasha Mozgovaya
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Moses Lake, Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER:
VIDEO EDITOR:
ASSIGNING EDITOR: Scott Stearns
SCRIPT EDITORS: sb, Megan Duzor, Mia Bush
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, Courtesy Sila Nanotechnologies, Courtesy
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 2:59
VID APPROVED BY: SJ
TYPE: TVR
EDITOR NOTES: The video can be embedded in a web story; pairs with web story, which also is in HFR))
[[The Biden administration’s push for clean energy solutions has turned a rural Washington state town into a hub for electric vehicle battery production. VOA Natasha Mozgovaya reports from Moses Lake.]]
((INTRO))
[[The Biden administration’s push for clean energy solutions has turned a rural Washington state town into a hub for electric vehicle battery production. VOA Natasha Mozgovaya reports from Moses Lake.]]
((NARRATOR)) (Location: Moses Lake, Washington)
With a population of about 25,000, the rural town of Moses Lake in eastern Washington state is joining the United States' clean energy economy by becoming a destination for the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles, or EVs.
Nik Anderson is the director of program management for Group14 Technologies, which manufactures a key battery component.
((Nik Anderson, Group14 Technologies))
"Behind me here are our first two commercial-scale production modules for our silicon battery technology here in Moses Lake. <…> That's going to go into everything from electric vehicles to IoT [Internet of Things] devices to smartphones and wearables and a lot of battery-based applications."
((NARRATOR))
New arrivals to Moses Lake are helping transform the local economy from agriculture and traditional manufacturing to tech, says Moses Lake native Rosendo Alvarado, a plant manager for Sila ((pronounced SEE-la)) Nanotechnologies.
((Rosendo Alvarado, Plant Manager, Sila Nanotechnologies))
“We worked in the fields that actually this building is sitting on today. It's been, you know, fast paced, but moving forward, super exciting about the opportunities that that we bring here for Sila, for the community, and for the overall EV market.
((NARRATION))
Two American startups, backed by $100 million in federal grants each, are racing to secure the domestic supply chain for EV batteries. Gene Berdichevsky is the CEO of Sila Nanotechnologies.
((Gene Berdichevsky, Sila Nanotechnologies CEO)) (Via Zoom)
"Catching up to the world leaders in Asia is quite challenging. And so, the way to do that is actually not to build the same thing that they're building in Asia — it's to build the next generation of battery technologies.”
((NARRATOR)) (Courtesy: Sila Nanotechnologies)
Both Sila and Group14 are replacing graphite in lithium-ion batteries with silicon-based components, for several reasons.
((Radio: ...says Daniel Schwartz, the director of the Clean Energy Institute at the University of Washington))
((Daniel Schwartz, Clean Energy Institute Director))
“The primary mineral for what's going in in Moses Lake is sand. It's silica.
(Courtesy: Sila Nanotechnologies)
It is the most widely distributed mineral in the crust of the earth. // (End courtesy) Graphite is lower performance, and as a nation we are trade exposed, because most of the graphite comes from overseas.”
((NARRATOR))
Grant Ray with Group14 says that the company’s technology aims to reduce one of the major obstacles to EV adoption — “charge anxiety.”
((Grant Ray, Group14 Technologies))
“When we think about charge times, you know, right now we're hearing, you know, 10% to 80% in 10 minutes. Well, what if that changes and it comes down to five minutes? What if it starts to get closer to what it really is for, you know, the way we think about refueling a car?”
((NARRATOR))
The Biden administration made a push for EVs as part of its climate change agenda.
Most Republican presidential candidates reject it.
((Radio: ...Former President Donald Trump))
((Donald Trump, Former President)) (Location: Clinton, Michigan, September 2023)
“They want to go all electric and put you all out of business.”
((NARRATION))
Berdichevsky, of Sila Nanotechnologies, says the U.S., which introduced electric vehicles to the world, shouldn’t shy away from the opportunity to innovate.
((Gene Berdichevsky, Sila Nanotechnologies CEO)) (Via Zoom)
"The world is going to go towards all-electric vehicles, whether the Democrats are in the White House or the Republicans are in the White House."
((NARRATION))
Clean energy may be a controversial topic during the presidential elections season, but Moses Lake hopes to reap the benefits of the cutting-edge industry coming to town with hundreds of new jobs.
((Natasha Mozgovaya, VOA News, Moses Lake, Washington))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateJanuary 31, 2024 10:11 EST
BylineNatasha Mozgovaya
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English, US Agency for Global Media
