§4865 Prohibition on acquisition of advanced batteries composed of materials from certain foreign sources

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must buy advanced batteries and cells that do not use parts, materials, or technology owned, made, refined, or supplied by a “foreign entity of concern.” This rule starts for new acquisition programs on January 1, 2028, for standard batteries on January 1, 2029, and for existing acquisition programs on January 30, 2031. There are a few exceptions. The rule does not apply if the battery is finally assembled by a non-foreign entity, more than 95% of the cost of the battery’s important cell parts come from non-foreign sources, and no technology licensed from a foreign entity of concern was used; domestically recycled and reprocessed parts count as domestic. It also does not apply to batteries for cell phones, laptops, personal electronics, or medical gear used in offices or hospitals, to off-the-shelf maintenance items, or to items for research, development, testing, and evaluation. The Secretary may grant a one-year waiver if non-foreign batteries of acceptable quality and price are not available, or if a battery clearly is not critical to a system’s operation or security; that waiver authority may be delegated only to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. The Secretary must brief the congressional defense committees by December 1, 2028, and at least every three years after that until twelve years after the law was passed. Defined terms (one line each): “new acquisition program” — a defense program that had not started engineering and manufacturing development or an equivalent phase before the law was passed; “existing acquisition program” — a program that had started that development phase or equivalent before the law was passed; “functional cell component” — the main battery parts that make and store energy (like cathodes, anodes, separators, electrolytes, and safety parts); “foreign entity of concern” — the entities identified by other federal law; “standard battery” — a battery used in more than one weapons system and not managed by a single portfolio executive.