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The Department of the Navy, which oversees the Marine Corps, has committed to exclusively procuring American or allied-manufactured batteries for its facilities.

This policy shift was announced in a letter to Senator Marco Rubio, dated March 28, and came after security concerns were raised last year when Chinese-manufactured batteries were installed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Following the national security concerns highlighted by lawmakers, the Navy assured that no “utility-scale” Chinese batteries would be utilized in government operations. “To prevent any supply chain risks from occurring in the future, the DoD will require, to the maximum extent possible, that our partners source all components from American or allied-­nation sources,” the Navy stated in the letter.

In response to the Navy’s actions, Senator Rubio expressed his approval, stating, “CATL batteries should not be allowed in our country, let alone on our military bases. It is encouraging to see DoD recognize the threat of CATL systems and take steps to protect our national security interests.”

The situation came to light when Duke Energy disclosed that it had disconnected the CATL batteries shortly after the concerns were raised. The Navy, unaware of the origins of the batteries initially, thought they had approved batteries made in Japan.