The Biden administration’s climate change agenda has spurred a lobbying boom driven by mineral and battery companies seeking a share of billions in federal incentives.

More than 30 of those companies retained lobbying firms for the first time since President Joe Biden took office, POLITICO’s E&E News found through an analysis of disclosure records. Other companies and industry groups have boosted their lobbying staffs or spending.

The National Mining Association, which had reduced its spending amid a downturn in the coal industry, more than doubled its federal lobbying expenditures from 2020 to 2022, when it reached $2.2 million.

The rush to influence lawmakers and agencies is evidence of the challenges and opportunities involved in meeting the president’s goal of seeing zero-emission vehicles make up half of new car and truck sales by 2030. Along with that target, the administration and Congress are pushing for a vast expansion of North America’s ability to provide the minerals and batteries for […]