I helped design the original Tesla battery. Here’s how America can lead the world again

(SeaPRwire) –   If China were to halt exports of battery-grade graphite tomorrow, nearly 100,000 Americans would lose their jobs within a week. Production lines for batteries, electric vehicle assembly plants, and grid-scale battery installations would all come to a standstill. Without Chinese graphite, the United States has no functioning battery supply chain.

This situation is not merely hypothetical. China has already implemented export restrictions on lithium-ion batteries and graphite anodes—measures that took effect in November 2025 and remain in force, with a temporary easing of enhanced licensing requirements currently in place through November 2026. Preventing this crisis requires the U.S. to do more than simply bring back older-generation dependencies; it must lead in developing the next generation of battery technology.

China spent decades advancing its graphite production capabilities, constructing processing facilities, and securing access to top-tier global graphite resources. Today, the country produces nearly 100% of the world’s anode supply and over 80% of globally manufactured battery cells, according to BloombergNEF. Even if the U.S. succeeds in expanding domestic graphite output, doing so will be extremely costly. We would be entering the race late, competing against supply chains that are larger, more advanced, heavily subsidized, and deeply entrenched. Investing years and billions of dollars only to fall further behind is not a strategy—it’s a dead end.

A Better Path: Leapfrog to Next-Generation Materials

Industrial leadership isn’t built by replicating the past—it’s forged by building the future. The next-generation material already exists. It was invented in America, and today it is being scaled to industrial levels right here in the United States.

Silicon–carbon (Si/C) anodes outperform graphite in every critical aspect of next-gen battery performance. Compared to graphite, Si/C anodes are half the size, five times lighter, and deliver double the power and faster charging speeds. One ton of Si/C anode material replaces five tons of graphite, enabling far more efficient manufacturing. Batteries using these anodes boast 20%–40% greater energy density, which translates to longer run times, extended range, or smaller overall battery packs.

These aren’t lab projections. Sila has been supplying commercial markets since 2021, with its technology integrated into millions of devices. Crucially, the entire supply chain relies on quartz—essentially sand—with zero dependence on China.

The shift toward silicon is already underway. Every major smartphone manufacturer in China now powers flagship devices with silicon-carbon batteries. Silicon is also being adopted in next-generation drones, enabling longer flight durations and heavier payloads—capabilities increasingly seen as strategic priorities amid rising global tensions. Billions of consumer electronics will feature silicon-powered batteries within three years. The automotive sector is following suit, as silicon’s ability to deliver greater range and lower costs at scale begins to transform EV battery sourcing decisions.

We are at a pivotal moment. The question is whether the U.S. will lead this transformation or watch it unfold elsewhere.

Building the Next Battery Ecosystem

The greatest challenge in energy technology has never been invention—it has always been scaling it. Historically, the U.S. excelled at innovation but outsourced manufacturing. That approach must change. Demand for batteries outside China is projected to triple over the next five years, driven by artificial intelligence, data centers, drones, electric vehicles, and defense applications. Meanwhile, the gap between current supply capacity and future market needs continues to widen rapidly. To bridge this divide, the world needs to add roughly 2,000 GWh of anode production capacity—equivalent to tens of billions in annual output. The most effective way forward is to localize the entire battery supply chain within the United States.

Sila opened the first GWh-scale silicon anode plant in the Western Hemisphere in Moses Lake, Washington, in late 2025. This marks a strong start, and the existing facility has land and infrastructure capable of supporting over 200 GWh of additional annual capacity. But government and industry must act together to seize this opportunity. That means ensuring advanced manufacturers—not just data centers—have reliable access to sufficient grid power, and that policy incentives actually mandate supply chain localization—not just finished batteries—within American borders.

The Inflation Reduction Act brought battery factories to the U.S., but it failed to secure the underlying supply chain. We cannot afford to repeat that mistake.

The Strategic Opportunity

Batteries are no longer just components—they are foundational infrastructure for national defense, the electrical grid, transportation, and the expansion of AI computing capabilities.

If the U.S. chooses to invest in replicating China’s graphite supply chain, it will spend the next decade falling even further behind. Full catch-up is impossible. But if we instead invest in scaling up the silicon anode ecosystem already replacing graphite—here, at industrial scale, on American soil, and powered by American intellectual property—we can reclaim global leadership.

Leadership in this sector won’t be determined by sheer manufacturing volume. Instead, it will be decided by who leads in deploying superior technology and maintaining the most secure supply chains. The competition to secure a domestic battery supply chain will be won by nations that build the technologies and infrastructures of the future. We originated this breakthrough. Now we must build it, scale it, and dominate it.