U.S. Secretary of Commerce Fina Raimondo visited Reno on Tuesday with a big check - $21 million to support Northern Nevada’s lithium economy.
“We’re taking what you have now, and helping you to take it to the next level.” she said at a press conference at Dragonfly Energy.
The Tech Hub at the University of Nevada, Reno will lead the charge on deciding how to spend the money. Provost Jeff Thompson said it will go toward initiatives that address community-wide challenges as the lithium-ion battery production industry grows in the region.
“It’s everything from looking at workforce shortages and doing analysis and understanding where companies need help getting workers, to housing – how are we going to solve housing issues?” He said. “Transportation issues. How can we make sure that you can move the lithium to where the batteries are being made?”
Those are challenges that Dragonfly Energy CEO Denis Phares knows well.
“There’s a lot of infrastructure that needs to be developed in order for us to compete in terms of developing a lithium economy,” he said. “We’ve got lithium in the ground, but we have to get it out of the ground. We have to process it. We need to make cells. We need to recycle it.”
The Commerce Department has a vested interest in helping Nevada solve those challenges. Raimondo said that she wants to see the state become a global leader in lithium production.
“Energy independence, it’s supply chain resilience. We want these batteries made in America by Americans, so that we’re not entirely dependent on other countries,” she said.
Senator Jacky Rosen added that all of Northern Nevada stands to reap the benefits of a burgeoning lithium industry.
“People are building small businesses around it, so it spurs our entire community. Ninety-nine percent of businesses in Nevada are small businesses. It matters,” she said.
