The auto industry’s desperate need for batteries to power millions of EVs has flipped the power dynamics for a host of battery startups.
Once car companies started making their more-than $515 billion electrification plans, they began scrambling to secure battery technology and supplies. And that’s where things have gotten tricky.
To start with, today’s battery makers are struggling to churn out enough supply to power all those promised EVs. Elon Musk has said the lithium business needs new players to rein in “insane” costs. Because automakers new to the EV business lack the in-house expertise to make and manage their own batteries, talent is in short supply, too…