Tag: electric-vehicle batteries

US tightens rules on AI chip sales to China in blow to Nvidia

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

US tightens rules on AI chip sales to China in blow to Nvidia

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang told the Financial Times earlier this year that the 2022 controls had left the Silicon Valley company with its “hands tied behind our back” by barring sales of its most advanced chips to China. He has said further restrictions could seriously harm US chipmakers by eating into their ability to finance investment.

Related:

Updated US export controls could cover ASML’s workhorse machine, dealing China’s chip ambitions a heavy blow

China ups export curbs on key EV battery component, safeguarding graphite amid US tensions

Countries Eye Weight Tax To Counter Public Safety Threat Of Extremely Heavy, Large EVs

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Countries Eye Weight Tax To Counter Public Safety Threat Of Extremely Heavy, Large EVs

The electric Ford Lightning, for example, is a whopping 6,500 pounds. The Hummer EV is even heavier, clocking in at 9,000 pounds. Its battery alone weighs more than a Honda Civic. Experts have pointed out the significant safety ramifications of this transition for a while, but it’s still not clear that we’ve prepared the regulatory and policy landscape for such a transition.

America’s $52 Billion Plan to Make Chips at Home Faces a Labor Shortage + manufacturing chips in the US could make smartphones more expensive

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

America’s $52 Billion Plan to Make Chips at Home Faces a Labor Shortage

Another possible fix would be to keep people in the workforce longer, by raising the age at which workers can begin collecting Social Security or tapping into their pensions or 401(k)s. Yet Harry Holzer, a former US Department of Labor chief economist now at Georgetown University, says that neither feels politically feasible right now. Immigration has been a toxic issue in American politics for years, and Social Security has long been an untouchable entitlement. “None of that is doable,” Holzer says, which means “our labor force growth is going to continue to be modest.”

Related:

How manufacturing chips in the US could make smartphones more expensive

Morcos says a top concern of his is the narrowness of the CHIPS Act. Without bringing related device manufacturing back to the U.S., such as device batteries, sensors, cameras, antennas, and hundreds of other components, the manufacturing process could require the most critical component to be produced stateside, then shipped overseas to be assembled with hundreds of other components into a device that is then shipped back to the U.S. for the American consumer.

Work longer, for less pay, and you still won’t be able to afford the latest smartphone or laptop?! 🤷🏼‍♀️

Elections & Lithium Mining: Why is the US Suddenly Running ‘Get Out the Vote Ads’ in Nigeria?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Elections & Lithium Mining: Why is the US Suddenly Running ‘Get Out the Vote Ads’ in Nigeria?

Last year, US-based electric vehicle company Tesla put in a bid for a contract to mine some of that Lithium, but the Nigerian government denied them. Nigeria, like most African countries, has a history of foreign powers exploiting them for their national resources while offering little value to the people of Nigeria.

Video via Activist News Network

Related:

What Would It Mean for Nigeria to Elect an Igbo President?

Policies Matter: Volkswagen, Mercedes, & Hyundai React To Inflation Reduction Act

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)1 Comment

Policies Matter: Volkswagen, Mercedes, & Hyundai React To Inflation Reduction Act

In June, Johan DeNysschen, the COO of Volkswagen of America, told Bloomberg his company is considering the construction of a battery manufacturing facility in North America. That would satisfy the requirement in the Inflation Reduction Act that batteries are manufactured in the US or other countries that are approved trading partners. According to the current North American free trade agreement, American trade officials consider anything made in Canada or Mexico to be domestically produced.

But manufacturing is one thing, The IRA goes further and requires the materials used to manufacture products also be sourced from approved trading partners. Canada is certainly one of them.

…

Then the roof fell in. The IRA only applies to vehicles built in the US, and that Georgia factory was not scheduled to be up and running until 2025. Two weeks ago, Hyundai and Kia vehicles imported from South Korea were eligible for the federal EV tax credit of up to $7,500. After the IRA was signed into law, they are eligible for nothing. The South Korean government is considering bringing the matter to the World Trade Council, but according to Reuters, Hyundai will now speed up construction of its new Georgia factory.

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In the final analysis, that may be a good thing for America. Globalization left many countries like the US vulnerable to the machinations of crooks, thieves, and lunatics. The cheapest solution is often not the best solution.

Interesting that South Korea isn’t an “approved trading partner”. Then again, they’re not part of the USMCA. I suppose this is good for bringing some jobs to America.