Electric Vehicle (EV) And Battery Manufacturing in the Great Lakes Region

This briefing by RMI analyzes the potential for the Great Lakes region to lead the electric vehicle (EV) and battery supply chain. While the region possesses historical automotive strengths and significant R&D capacity, it faces competition from the 'Battery Belt' in the Deep South and gaps in state-level industrial policies. The document outlines the four stages of the supply chain—upstream, midstream, downstream, and reuse/recycling—and provides a gap analysis of regional policies compared to federal initiatives, urging Great Lakes states to coordinate on strategic coordination, production incentives, and end-of-life regulations to maintain competitiveness.

• The Great Lakes region is competing with the 'Battery Belt,' which extends into the Deep South, for EV and battery supply chain investments. While the region has historical advantages, it faces risks if it engages in a 'race to the bottom' that could undermine global competitiveness.
• The midstream battery supply chain is heavily concentrated in China, South Korea, and Japan. China specifically produces 75% of all battery cells, 70% of cathodes, and 90% of anode and electrolyte production. Within the Great Lakes, there are 27 operating or planned midstream facilities, with 10 located in Michigan.
• EV manufacturing capacity in the Great Lakes is projected to grow significantly, increasing from 300,000 vehicles annually to over 700,000 within two years. Battery manufacturing capacity is expected to rise from 37 gigawatt-hours to 285 gigawatt-hours per year by 2026.
• The transition to EVs poses a high risk of economic disruption for 'powertrain communities' specializing in internal combustion engine (ICE) parts, as these components are not used in EVs. The Detroit-Warren-Flint area is the most exposed, with a parts manufacturing specialization 13 times higher than the national average.
• The Great Lakes region holds a strong advantage in EV-related innovation. Six of the ten U.S. cities most specialized in EV patents are located in the Great Lakes, and the Detroit metro area has produced nearly three times more EV-related patents than any other U.S. city over the last six years.
• There is a critical lack of state-level policy in the Great Lakes regarding the end-of-life phase of batteries. Currently, no states in the region provide incentives, mandates, or standards for EV battery recycling or reuse, with existing standards focusing only on proper waste disposal.
• Clean electricity access is a decisive factor for battery factory locations due to high energy intensity (47 kWh of energy to produce 1 kWh of battery storage). However, the region faces bottlenecks, including congested grid interconnection queues; PJM and MISO have 3,042 and 1,734 active projects in their queues, respectively.

APA

RMI (2023). Electric Vehicle (EV) And Battery Manufacturing in the Great Lakes Region. https://rmi.org/resources/electric-vehicle-battery-manufacturing-in-the-great-lakes-region/

Chicago

RMI. Electric Vehicle (EV) And Battery Manufacturing in the Great Lakes Region. 2023. https://rmi.org/resources/electric-vehicle-battery-manufacturing-in-the-great-lakes-region/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Electric Vehicle (EV) And Battery Manufacturing in the Great Lakes Region |date=26 September 2023 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/electric-vehicle-battery-manufacturing-in-the-great-lakes-region/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2023electric, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Electric Vehicle (EV) And Battery Manufacturing in the Great Lakes Region}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/electric-vehicle-battery-manufacturing-in-the-great-lakes-region/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }