U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., has joined a colleague in asking a federal agency’s inspector general about a report the federal government sent advanced battery technology know-how to China.
U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., has joined a colleague in asking a federal agency’s inspector general about a report the federal government sent advanced battery technology know-how to China.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., has joined a colleague in asking a federal agency's inspector general about a report that the federal government sent advanced battery technology knowledge to China.
This past week, Barrasso along with Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Ia., sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Energy's inspector general, Teri Donaldson. In Wednesday's letter, the two lawmakers asked about an NPR news report last month about DOE apparently twice allowing vanadium redox battery technology, which was created by scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, to go to recipients with operations in countries outside the U.S.
In response to these concerns, the DOE issued a general statement to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. It pointed to more recent efforts under the Biden administration to try to address such issues.
In their new correspondence, Barrasso and Ernst said China-based Dalian Rongke Power Co. Ltd. got a sublicense from DOE in 2017 to make these type of batteries in China. The politicians said Vanadis Power, a Dutch company, then got a full license in 2021.
"Vanadis plainly stated on their official website that they planned to manufacture the batteries in China. These transfers occurred while several U.S. companies, according to the NPR report, simultaneously sought the same license from DOE," according to the letter.Â
They went on to write that "the original licensee failed to adhere to DOE stipulations associated with the license and strengthened China’s technological standing as a result. These stipulations included a quota for domestic battery sales, as well as a requirement that the batteries be 'substantially manufactured' in the U.S."
Donaldson was asked for the DOE's IGÂ office to take "the necessary steps to review this misconduct with an appropriate level of scrutiny and request that you report the findings of this review to us as soon as possible."
In its Thursday email to the WTE, a DOE spokesperson wrote that under the current presidential administration, "DOE closed loopholes in the law related to U.S. manufacturing requirements for federal R&D awards." R&D is shorthand for research and development. The agency's representative noted that in June 2021, DOE "issued a first-of-its-kind policy" to "ensure that all DOE funded RD&D [sic] will be substantially manufactured domestically."
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