Lucid Motors – the luxury EV tech company – announced on Wednesday the creation of a critical minerals producers collaborative to strengthen the supply chain for American automotive and EV manufacturers. The new group, called MINAC – The Minerals for National Automotive Competitiveness Collaboration – is designed to advance domestic critical mineral production and to strengthen the U.S.-based automotive supply chain.
As part of the launch, Lucid and its partners gathered lawmakers, policymakers, and industry leaders on Wednesday evening for a roundtable reception at the CTA Innovation House featuring remarks from Governor Katie Hobbs (D-AZ), Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and Rep. Nick Begich (R-AK-01), and video remarks from Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-06), whose Congressional district includes Lucid’s 3.85 million sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Casa Grande, Arizona.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), said in a statement, “Arizona is proud to be home to Lucid’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, and I’m glad to see them leading the way in building electric vehicles with American-made materials. This is how we keep the economic benefits of innovation in the United States: by strengthening our supply chains, reducing our reliance on China, and supporting good-paying jobs in Arizona.”
Lucid CEO Marc Winterhoff, commented on the collaborative, “Domestic supply chains strengthen manufacturing resilience, fortify sustainable supply chains, and accelerate job growth. Following in the footsteps of our previous agreements, today we are doubling down on our commitment to powering American innovation and look forward to working with our partners as we built the next generation of automotive manufacturing in the United States.”
The launch event featured Jessica Nigro, Lucid’s head of external affairs, in conversation with executives from MINAC member companies, including Alaska Energy Metals, Graphite One, Electric Metals, and RecycLiCo, to highlight how the collaborative will accelerate the development and procurement of domestic critical mineral resources.
But it’s not just the automotive industry who will benefit from these efforts. Nigro noted, “When it comes to defense and national security, the Pentagon represents only 5% of the demand for domestic critical minerals, so we need private industry, including the EV industry and collaboratives like MINAC, to drive the demand necessary to source domestic critical minerals in the supply chain and to strengthen our national security.”
Following the program, guests enjoyed a networking cocktail reception and walkaround of the company’s all-new Lucid Gravity SUV – marking the Gravity’s first appearance in the District– as well as the award-winning Lucid Air sedan, which has a range of up to 512 miles on a single charge.
The MINAC announcement comes on the heels of Lucid’s new partnership with Uber and Nuro to create a next-generation premium global robotaxi program created exclusively for the Uber ride-hailing platform. Uber aims to deploy 20,000 Lucid Gravity vehicles equipped with the Nuro Driver™ over six years.
For more information, visit www.LucidMotors.com.
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