CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) — In August, congress passed the CHIPS Act, putting fifty billion dollars toward the domestic production of micro-conductors.

Micro-conductors are fundamental to nearly all modern technology, and the Act gave the US a major economic stake in their production.

Now, one of the bill’s key proponents, US Representative Ro Khanna, is in Chattanooga, learning from Mayor Tim Kelly about the role the city is playing in combining economic growth with environmental responsibility.

According to Representative Khanna, the majority of graphite used for silicone production is made in China, and the US makes almost none at all.

But Chattanooga stands out as an exception.

“We make none of the cobalt for processing in the United States of America. It’s all from China. We make none of the lithium, the new oil, in the United States of America. It’s all coming from China. The only company in the entire United States that is producing graphite, clean graphite, is here in Chattanooga. That is not just an economic asset, that’s a national security asset,” said Khanna.

That company is PureGraphite.

And the graphite they make is environmentally friendly, unlike materials made overseas.

“The graphite that’s being produced here is clean. In China, it’s coming out of coal. It has… it’s producing carbon monoxide. Hydrogen sulfur is coming out.”

More here