Daily Caller by John Hugh DeMastri 6/27/2023
A U.S. battery maker backed by the Biden administration relies on technology from a Chinese Communist Party-led company, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of Chinese media reports.
The Department of Energy (DOE) awarded KORE Power, a U.S.-based battery firm, an $850 million loan in early June to construct its “KOREPlex” battery-cell production facility in Arizona. DOE billed the loan as part of the administration’s efforts to “onshore [electric vehicle] supply chains.” However, KOREPlex will rely on technology from the firm’s long-time Chinese manufacturing partner, Do-Flouride New Materials (DFD), DOE Loan Programs Office (LPO) Director Jigar Shah said in an interview Wednesday.
“In this deal that we most recently announced two weeks ago, KORE, it’s an American company … they’ve been around for a long time, but they are using technology from a Chinese company, DFD, to manufacture battery cells in Arizona,” Shah said. However, Shah did not mention the Chinese company in question has ties to the CCP.
The Central Committee of the CCP honored DFD’s chairman, Li Shijiang, in 2021 as an “Outstanding Communist Party Member,” according to Chinese news outlet Xinhua News Agency. Shijiang had previously been honored in 2019 as one of nineteen “Outstanding Veterans of the Year” of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), according to Chinese military news outlet PLA Daily.
Xue Xujin, who currently serves in DFD’s executive leadership as a deputy general manager, according to Reuters, is also listed as a member of the CCP in DFD’s 2016 annual report.
More:
https://dailycaller.com/2023/06/27/biden-battery-china-ccp/
