New Policy Recommendations, Economic Modeling Chart Path to Success for America’s Battery Belt 

$141 billion in economic input, 340,000 new jobs on the table for the Southeast US over the next ten years with smart policy solutions in place  

Over 250 business, government, academia, advocacy and community leaders convened over two years to develop policy roadmap and rapidly scale America’s battery material supply chain 

 

WASHINGTON – Today, the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), in partnership with Greenline Insights, announced a policy roadmap designed to accelerate the build out of America’s Battery Belt and new modeling outlining the significant economic opportunity of scaling the battery materials industry in the Southeast US.  

Across five regional policy workshops, hundreds of hours of stakeholder interviews, extensive background research, and economic analysis and modeling, the C2ES Regional Clean Economies Initiative has consulted more than 250 stakeholders to develop a clear picture of the opportunity in the region and produce a comprehensive policy roadmap to realizing the benefits.  

Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee could capture a larger share of the battery value chain, with substantial economic benefits across the region. In addition to state-by-state economic analysis, modeling by Greenline Insights demonstrates that in the next decade, the Battery Belt could achieve: 

• $102 billion in total investment  

• $141 billion in total economic output generated 

• $61.7 billion in regional GDP growth, and 

• 374,000 jobs created across the Southeast 

Read the C2ES Regional Policy Roadmap here.  

Read the Greenline Insights Modeling Report here.  

Federal support is needed to scale the battery industry and secure American energy independence, critical supply chains, and domestic manufacturing. Highlights from federal policy recommendations include:  

• Formation of Battery Manufacturing USA, a federal public-private partnership under the Department of Commerce’s Manufacturing USA umbrella for coordination among research and development efforts and workforce development 

• Create an Office of Battery Safety in the Department of Energy to federally coordinate battery safety standards and offer educational resources to interpret them 

Additional coordination of local and state efforts, as well as increased regional ambition can further boost the Battery Belt while meeting specific needs of each state’s businesses, institutions, and communities. State policy recommendations include:  

• Establishing a regional financing entity to aggregate financial support and build a bench of investors in the Southeast for the battery industry. 

• Set a regional energy storage procurement goal with separate provisions for short-duration and long-duration energy storage. States with strong, clearly articulated goals contribute to a more stable stationary storage market. 

Industry should also play a central role in advancing America’s Battery Belt by implementing the following recommendations:  

• Industry should facilitate the formation of a clear certification pathway and standard set of credentials for workers in the battery industry, in collaboration with academic institutions, workforce development and training providers, and policymakers.  

• Create a messaging and outreach campaign to educate key stakeholders on the emerging American battery industry, with resources for:  

• policymakers, on the nuances of battery supply chain development and battery storage deployment  

• communities, on the safety and resilience implications of battery storage  

• students and young workers, on the opportunities of the battery industry. 

These new policy recommendations and modeling were announced during the C2ES Southeast Regional Summit in Charlotte, North Carolina, hosted alongside the Battery Show South, the largest trade show for batteries, EV technology, and energy storage in the region. During the summit stakeholders gathered to transform these ideas into action, participating in workshops to build advocacy campaigns around each recommendation and align on messaging and outreach strategies across the region. 

Over the next year, C2ES will continue to engage the coalition on these policies, bringing stakeholders to federal policymakers for a Hill Day in June 2026, meeting with state and local policymakers, and raising public awareness of the Battery Belt’s economic promise.  

About C2ES: The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions—or C2ES—champions policies and technologies that foster thriving economies and shared prosperity, founded on abundant, affordable, and reliable clean energy and a safe climate. Founded in 1998 as the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, C2ES is known worldwide as a thought leader and trusted convener. We work with policymakers and leading businesses in the U.S. and around the world to forge durable, effective, and ambitious solutions to climate and energy challenges.

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