The race to develop lithium-ion batteries; will the US lose to Asia?

I'm a big proponent of battery powered cars because as the grid gets cleaner (and maybe Obama will get an all-new, schnazzy green grid underway when he takes over) battery powered cars will offer extremely efficient, clean transportation.

But the US is in danger to losing out to Asian countries in the race to develop advanced LI batteries that will power the cars of the future, largely because our current manufacturing infrastructure can't support producing them.  

Now, a group called The National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture plans to introduce a proposal to Congress in January to raise $1 billion to $2 billion for LI battery manufacturing - right here in the good ole US of A.  Here's hoping that the Alliance is successful and that the insular, paranoid US auto industry accepts that it needs to work together (to some extent) to develop the technology to power tomorrow's cars.