DOE to Provide $17.2M for Five PHEV Battery Development Projects; Focus on 10- and 40-Mile Electric Range

25 September 2007

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected five projects for $17.2 million in DOE funding for plug-in hybrid (PHEV) battery development, with an emphasis on batteries for both 10- and 40-mile range PHEVs. DOE will also provide nearly $2 million to the University of Michigan (U-M) to spearhead a study exploring the future of PHEVs.

The five projects selected for negotiation of awards of up to $17.2 million from DOE aim to address critical barriers to the commercialization of PHEVs, specifically battery cost and battery life. Combined with cost-share from the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC), these projects will allow up to $38 million in battery research and development.

DOE funding is subject to negotiation of final contract terms and Congressional appropriations. Projects are expected to begin this year and continue through 2009; funding will come from DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (fiscal years ’07-’09). USABC will negotiate final contract terms with five lithium-ion battery developers. Companies selected for negotiation of awards include:

• 3M of St. Paul, MN. Selected for an award of up to $1.14 million from DOE (total DOE/industry cost share: $2.28 million) over two years to screen nickel/manganese/cobalt (NMC) cathode materials through building and testing of small-sized cells;

• A123Systems of Watertown, MA. Selected for an award of up to $6.25 million from DOE (total DOE/industry cost share: $12.5 million) over three years for a project to develop batteries based on nanophosphate chemistry for 10- and 40-mile range PHEVs;

• Compact Power Inc. of Troy, MI. Selected for an award of up to $4.45 million from DOE (total DOE/industry cost share: $12.7 million) over three years to develop batteries for 10-mile range PHEVs using high energy and high power Manganese-spinel;

• EnerDel, Inc. of Indianapolis, IN. Selected for an award of up to $1.25 million from DOE (total DOE/industry cost share: $2.5 million) over two years to develop cells for 10- and 40-mile range PHEVs using nano-phase lithium titanate coupled with a high voltage Nickel-Manganese cathode material;

• Johnson Controls – Saft Advanced Power Solutions of Milwaukee, WI. Selected for an award of up to $4.1 million from DOE (total DOE/industry cost-share: $8.2 million) over two years to develop batteries using a nickelate/layered chemistry for 10- and 40-mile range PHEVs.

The University of Michigan’s Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute (MMPEI) will receive nearly $2 million from DOE to coordinate efforts among DOE and its Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and DTE Energy to conduct a two-year study on PHEVs. Specifically, the study will:

• Evaluate how PHEVs would share the power grid with our Nation’s other energy needs;

• Monitor the American public’s evolving view of PHEVs and provide the first national-level empirical data on how driving behavior differs with these vehicles compared to conventional gasoline, diesel, and hybrid vehicles;

• Assess a possible reduction of greenhouse gas emissions with the increased use of PHEVs;

• Identify how automakers could optimize PHEV design to increase performance while also reducing cost. U-M researchers and auto industry partners will build a simulation model to test different PHEV design concepts.

Research for this study will take place over the next two years, and a preliminary report is expected to be released in January of 2008, at the Detroit Auto Show. DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery & Energy Reliability and Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) will fund this study (fiscal years 2007 and 2008, subject to appropriations from Congress).