The U.S. has a big lithium challenge: To build a greener economy with more electric vehicles, it needs to massively boost domestic production to power the batteries. 

Even though the U.S. is one of the most lithium plentiful countries in the world, it only processes about 1 percent of global output. 

The vast majority is mined in Australia, Chile and China. A number of companies are acting to change that.

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