A worldwide protection revolution is underway primarily based on swarms of autonomous, unmanned, AI- and battery-powered drone methods. Final month President Donald Trump signed the “Unleashing American Drone Dominance” govt order, and on July 10, Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth started to operationalize efforts to bolster home drone know-how and manufacturing.
Sadly for the U.S. and the West, this complete revolution rests on a single level of failure: Almost each autonomous system being deployed in the present day is powered by batteries depending on Chinese language-controlled provide chains. If America can’t supply and manufacture the batteries that energy its drones and autonomous methods, its protection superiority is in danger.
The Ukraine battle offers a real-time demonstration of warfare’s new actuality. Ukrainian forces have used small, cheap drones to destroy Russian strategic bombers price tens of tens of millions of {dollars}. Ukraine has turn into an innovation lab for growing and producing Western drones, but practically all of them are powered by batteries depending on China.
The Pentagon has gotten the memo. The Military is present process its largest restructuring for the reason that Chilly Warfare, equipping every of its active-duty divisions with many hundreds—and probably tens of millions, ultimately—of drones. The Protection Division’s Replicator Initiative goals to quickly discipline hundreds of autonomous methods earlier than the tip of this 12 months. Applications just like the Protection Innovation Unit’s Venture G.I. are fast-tracking the following technology of drone know-how.
This alteration brings a stark actuality. For the final 100-plus years, entry to grease to energy tanks, jets, ships, and provide chain strains has decided the end result of wars. However in a world of unmanned autonomous methods, entry to batteries and AI methods is the brand new aggressive benefit. Sadly, with batteries, we’re behind.
China’s battery monopoly
The legacy lithium-ion battery know-how that dominates the marketplace for drones and different protection purposes requires cobalt, nickel, manganese, and graphite—supplies that stream by way of provide chains managed by Beijing, from mining to metals processing to battery manufacturing. Within the case of graphite, a fabric present in practically each battery in the present day, China controls processing of larger than 95% of the worldwide battery-grade market. This isn’t the results of free market competitors. That is the results of a long time of Chinese language industrial coverage and subsidies to construct its international management in batteries.
Regardless of latest investments within the U.S. and EU to construct battery manufacturing, China’s consolidation of the market continues to develop yearly. Why? As a result of China has a monopoly on the availability chain and know-how feeding these battery vegetation. Beijing has restricted exports of crucial battery supplies, flooded international markets to undercut opponents, and in some instances stopped supplying batteries to specific U.S. drone firms. In different phrases, China is wielding its monopoly management of the market.
Congress acknowledged this vulnerability when it handed the 2024 Nationwide Protection Authorization Act, which prohibits the Protection Division from procuring batteries containing Chinese language-sourced supplies starting in October 2027. What was a possible vulnerability is now the present actuality in 2025, and the U.S. collectively has not been investing quick sufficient or strategically sufficient to solidify a home battery provide chain.
The answer is U.S. next-generation batteries
Let’s face it. After practically 30 years of commercial coverage, China has received the battle for lithium-ion dominance. Replicating its technique simply performs into the arms of the monopoly chief at the price of massively wasted assets. The higher path is to leapfrog the lithium-ion know-how altogether by accelerating the phase-in of next-generation battery applied sciences that rely on native provide chains.
Lithium-sulfur batteries symbolize some of the promising—and instantly obtainable—alternate options. Not like typical lithium-ion know-how, lithium-sulfur batteries don’t require Chinese language-controlled minerals and processes, akin to nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite. As an alternative, lithium-sulfur is constructed from supplies available within the U.S. as byproducts of the present, massively scaled oil and gasoline business.
Moreover, lithium-sulfur is a leap ahead in vitality density, which implies a 30-50% lighter weight battery. In drone purposes, each gram issues. A U.S.-sourced, U.S.-manufactured lithium-sulfur battery that flies additional and carries extra payload, paired with American innovation, is how America can lead the drone revolution.
A number of U.S. firms have been racing to commercialize lithium-sulfur know-how. Lyten is one in all them. We started industrial drone battery manufacturing within the second quarter, sourced and manufactured within the U.S., with vitality density superior to lithium-ion batteries. The pipeline of clients is rising every day throughout aerospace, protection, provide chain, and industrial sectors—clear proof of pent-up demand for alternate options to in the present day’s lithium-ion know-how.
It’s time to speculate through the Protection Manufacturing Act
Now could be the time to maneuver with urgency. The U.S. has a superior various to lithium-ion know-how obtainable in the present day, using a massively scalable, native provide chain, and the manufacturing infrastructure in place to quickly scale with the fitting strategic investments. The Protection Manufacturing Act grants the federal authorities authority to speed up home manufacturing of crucial applied sciences for nationwide safety functions. President Trump beforehand used the DPA to spice up home manufacturing of medical provides in the course of the pandemic. The present battery disaster calls for related urgency.
Beginning with drones, it’s time for America to make an announcement globally and execute a U.S.-led battery revolution.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary items are solely the views of their authors and don’t essentially mirror the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
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