DOE Announces Nearly $11 Million for Advanced Automotive Battery Research, Development, and Demonstration Projects
16 June 2009
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected seven cost-shared research projects for the development of advanced batteries for electric drive vehicles. Topics include improved anode materials, improved mechanisms for safety and management, electrode manufacturing, and lithium-sulfur chemistry.
The total DOE investment for these projects is up to $10.96 million over three years, subject to annual appropriations. Private sector contributions will further increase the financial investment for a total of up to $19.36 million.
These projects were selected under the battery materials and manufacturing topic area from the Vehicle Technologies Program Wide Funding Opportunity Announcement released early in 2008. (Earlier post.) In December 2008, DOE announced the initial selection of three battery materials and manufacturing projects for negotiation of award from the FOA, including: 3M Company; BASF Catalyst LLC; and FMC Corporation. (Earlier post.)
These three initial contracts total up to $13.9 million in cost-shared cooperative agreements with a DOE share of up to $6.85 million, subject to annual appropriations. The new projects selected include, in order of award size:
EnerDel Inc. of Indianapolis, Indiana, has been selected for negotiation of an award for up to $3.3 million for a project to develop a chemical shuttle agent that will eliminate the danger of overcharging lithium-ion batteries developed for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and electric vehicles.
TIAX LLC of Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been selected for negotiation of an award for up to $2.36 million for a project aimed at understanding and preventing internal short circuits in lithium-ion cells. Results from the proposed program will help develop guidelines to enable development of technologies for safe battery packs, guidelines that will permit original equipment manufacturers to develop their own proprietary technologies for mitigating short-circuit induced safety incidents.
Angstron Materials LLC of Dayton, Ohio, teamed with Applied Sciences Inc. of Cedarville, Ohio; K2 Energy Solutions of Henderson, Nevada; General Motors Corporation of Detroit, Michigan; and HST Auto of Escondido, California; has been selected for negotiation of a three-year award of up to $3.2 million with a DOE share of up to $1.6 million, project to develop hybrid nano carbon fiber/graphene platelet-based high-capacity anodes for lithium batteries.
North Carolina State University of Raleigh, North Carolina, teamed with American Lithium Energy LLC of San Marcos, California, has been selected for negotiation of an award for up to $1.35 million for a project to develop high-energy composite nanofiber anodes for materials for lithium-ion batteries.
A123Systems, Inc of Watertown, Massachusetts, has been selected for negotiation of an award for up to $1.1 million for a project to develop a high-throughput electrode fabrication process for their lithium-ion battery technology.
SION Power Corporation of Tucson, Arizona, has been selected for negotiation of an award for up to $800,000 for a project aimed at demonstrating the viability of their lithium sulfur (Li-S) rechargeable battery chemistry for electric drive vehicles.
MaxPower Inc. of Harleysville, Pennsylvania, has been selected for negotiation of an award for up to $500,000 for a project aimed at adapting MaxPower’s present battery management systems (BMS) for lithium-ion batteries to recognize the imminent appearance of an internal short and to take action to operate the battery in a safe state.
Better than nothing but ... incredibly lame.
10M could barely be called a token gesture to solve these problems of reducing dependency on foreign oil and electrifying the transport grid.
Stop bailing out dinosaurs with Billions and - if any cash is going to be handed out at all - give it to the innovators like those listed above.
Posted by: chillpill | 16 June 2009 at 01:10 PM
Amen, chillpill.
We can squander $11 in about 1 minute in the military and yet we throw crumbs at the main reason we need the military (energy security).
Posted by: danm | 16 June 2009 at 04:12 PM
We spend $600 billion per year on the military, more than all the rest of the world combined and this is more than 15 years after the end of the Cold War.
I read that we spent about $150 million per year on the PNGV program over 8 years. That got us 3 car designs going over 70 mpg. $150 million is what the Pentagon spends every 4 hours every day, 365 days per year.
Posted by: SJC | 16 June 2009 at 07:11 PM
There is a search window at the top left of this page. Print here “DOE” and refresh your memory about DOE R&D spendings.
Posted by: Andrey Levin | 16 June 2009 at 08:47 PM
DOE is just one department. The NASA budget is $15 billion per year for the shuttle, space station, probes to Mars and SO much more. We need to realign out priorities.
Posted by: SJC | 16 June 2009 at 09:17 PM
ZEBRA, Sodium-aluminum-nickel-chloride, batteries are good enough for most electric car, bus and truck uses and have been proven to be safe and only need simple cooling systems.
The lithium-sulphur people are smart to pretend that lithium is important, since, right now, lithium batteries are in the news. NGK has now an operating business in making sodium sulphur batteries for connecting to the grid. I doubt if the use of lithium decreases the weight much compared to sodium.
GE is going to build the ZEBRA batteries as well as MES-DEA who sold some to GE for prototype locomotives and trucks. ..HG..
Posted by: Henry Gibson | 20 June 2009 at 10:44 PM
We are anode material supplier from China. Happy to know there is also such supports on advanced technology by government in USA as well as in China.
Posted by: Account Deleted | 23 June 2009 at 01:52 AM