https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/31/biden-defense-production-act-ev-battery-materials/

President Joe Biden will trigger the Defense Production Act to secure U.S. sources of critical minerals and materials like lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and manganese that are used to make batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage.

The order is in response to spiking gas prices and supply chain constraints caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine. It’s also part of Biden’s broader plan to respond to what his administration is cannily calling “Putin’s Price Hike” at the pump. Biden has also called for increased domestic production of oil and a historic release from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help form a bridge across the crisis.