“To construct this supply chain,” Matsumoto said before making his company’s public announcement, “it’s very important to us that there are several major parts and material suppliers, at least five, that need to be near our company.
“We must have cathode and anode materials,” he said to the governor. “Separators and electrolytes, laminates, and then copper foil and aluminum foil.”
“But recycling is also very important,” he continued. “We must also have recycling capabilities. We need to be able to recycle waste materials, like aluminum, to turn it into very valuable material.”
Beshear was reassuring. “When you look at aluminum,” he said, “we already have almost the entire life cycle of aluminum here in Kentucky. And we’re already in discussions with companies that are those major suppliers.”
But, Beshear added, looking to Matsumoto, “For a project this big, we need to make sure we…
EV batteries creating a new U.S. supply base
