DOE Grants $2.4B for Manufacturing, Deployment of Batteries, Electric Drive Components

August 27, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS

These projects cover the following areas:

• $1.5 billion in grants to U.S.-based manufacturers to produce batteries and their components and to expand battery recycling capacity.
• $500 million in grants to U.S.-based manufacturers to produce electric drive components for vehicles including electric motors, power electronics and other drive train components.
• $400 million in grants to purchase plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles for test demonstrations in several dozen locations; to deploy them and evaluate their performance; to install electric charging infrastructure; and to provide education and workforce training to support the transition to advanced electric transportation systems.

• Navistar International Corp. - $39 million to manufacture electric trucks.
• A123 and Johnson Controls - approximately $550 million to manufacture advanced batteries.
• Compact Power and Dow Kokam - more than $300 million to manufacture battery cells and materials.
• General Motors, Chrysler and Ford - more than $400 million to manufacture advanced hybrid and electric vehicles as well as batteries and electric drive components.
• The University of Michigan, Wayne State University and Michigan Technological University - more than $10 million for education and workforce training programs to train researchers, technicians and service providers and to conduct consumer research to accelerate the transition toward advanced vehicles and batteries.
• Celgard LLC - $49 million to expand its separator production capacity to help with the demand for lithium-ion batteries.
• Saft America Inc. - $95.5 million to construct a new plant on the site of a former military base to manufacture lithium-ion cells, modules and battery packs for military, industrial and agricultural vehicles.
• East Penn Manufacturing Co. - $32.5 million to increase production capacity for their valve-regulated lead-acid batteries and the UltraBattery, a lead-acid battery combined with a carbon supercapacitor, for micro and mild hybrid applications.
• Smith Electric - $10 million to build and deploy up to 100 electric vehicles including vans, pickups and their Newton brand medium duty trucks.
• Ford Motor Co. - $30 million to manufacture plug-in hybrid electric vehicles
• Missouri University of Science and Technology - $5 million to fund educational and workforce training programs on advanced vehicles technologies.

Source: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).