For over 200 years, the George Washington University (GW) has served as a hub for critical conversations on timely national issues. That continued on April 8 at “Charging Ahead in Uncertain Times,” hosted by GW’s Alliance for a Sustainable Future and GW Law. This event convened sustainability experts from government, industry, advocacy groups, and academia to examine the future of clean energy and U.S competitiveness in this evolving sector.
A key factor in U.S. competitiveness is domestic investments in clean energy, including solar, electric vehicles (EVs), and battery technology, much of which is currently sourced from China. In the panel “America’s China Challenge,” GW Engineering Professors Caitlin Grady and John Helveston joined Nick Nigro, Founder of Atlas Public Policy, and Albert Gore, Executive Director of the Zero Emissions Transportation Association, to explore how policy tools like tax incentives and tariffs are being used to reduce this dependence.
The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act aimed to counter this challenge by increasing investments in American manufacturing, especially in batteries, and offering tax incentives to jump-start the U.S. EV sector. However, Helveston warned that new tariffs now threaten these gains. Frequently cited in the media for his research, he emphasized that thousands of American jobs in battery and EV production are now at risk if these federal incentives are rolled back.
“What made this panel timely wasn’t just the headlines related to tariffs, it’s the reality that decisions made today will determine whether the U.S. leads or lags in the global energy economy tomorrow,” said Grady, who studies the form and functions of interconnected infrastructure across water, energy, and food systems and served as the panel moderator.
Helveston noted during the discussion that environmental messaging around EVs has actually hindered their adoption, as it doesn’t resonate equally across the political spectrum. Many consumers, particularly those on the right, become more receptive to EVs when they learn about benefits like improved performance and lower operating costs. According to Helveston, overcoming the politicization of EVs requires better storytelling that aligns more closely with consumer preferences.
“The technology has become quite politicized in the U.S., but it need not be. There is an opportunity now to focus on the EV industry as a pillar industry for the U.S. automotive future, emphasizing jobs and competitiveness against very high-quality and affordable Chinese EVs,” Helveston stated.
From this conversation, Helveston aims to reconsider how he talks about technology in his work and how his research team collects data about consumer preferences, especially in survey research. This personal reflection echoed the event’s broader themes of how the energy transition depends on domestic resilience and strategic positioning amid global competition and a rapidly changing environment.
Grady’s reflections on the panel underscored the broader significance of the event and GW’s unique role in shaping these conversations: “Our discussion brought together a vital intersection of geopolitics, technology, and natural security. For the GW community, located in the heart of Washington, D.C., there’s no better place to engage in these urgent debates.”