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President Obama Announces 48 Projects to Receive $2.4B in Grants for Next-Generation of Batteries and Electric Vehicles; To be Combined with $2.4B in Industry Cost-Share

President Obama announced 48 new advanced battery and electric drive projects that will receive $2.4 billion in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These projects, selected through a highly competitive process by the Department of Energy (DOE), are intended to accelerate the development of US manufacturing capacity for batteries and electric drive components as well as the deployment of electric drive vehicles.

The announcement marks the single largest investment in advanced battery technology for hybrid and electric-drive vehicles ever made. Industry officials expect that this $2.4 billion investment, coupled with another $2.4 billion in cost-share from the award winners, will result directly in the creation tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs in the US battery and auto industries.

The new awards cover the following areas:

  • $1.5 billion in grants to US-based manufacturers to produce batteries and their components and to expand battery recycling capacity;
  • $500 million in grants to US-based manufacturers to produce electric drive components for vehicles, including electric motors, power electronics, and other drive train components; and
  • $400 million in grants to purchase thousands of 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.

Companies and universities in Michigan are receiving more than $1 billion of the grants. A123Systems and Johnson Controls will receive a total of approximately $550 million to establish a manufacturing base in the state for advanced batteries, and two others, Compact Power and Dow Kokam, will receive a total of more than $300 million for manufacturing battery cells and materials.

Large automakers based in Michigan, including GM, Chrysler, and Ford, will receive a total of more than $400 million to manufacture thousands of advanced hybrid and electric vehicles as well as batteries and electric drive components. And three educational institutions in Michigan, the University of Michigan, Wayne State University in Detroit, and Michigan Technological University in Houghton in the Upper Peninsula, will receive a total of 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 towards advanced vehicles and batteries.

The Recovery Act awards for electric drive vehicle battery and component manufacturing are, by category:

Cell, Battery, and Materials Manufacturing Facilities: $1,247 million

Applicant DOE Award ($mil.) Project locations Technology
Johnson Controls $299.2 Holland, MI
Lebanon, OR
(Entek)
Production of nickel-cobalt-metal battery cells and packs, as well as production of battery separators (by partner Entek) for hybrid and electric vehicles.
A123 Systems, Inc. $249.1 Romulus, MI
Brownstown, MI
Manufacturing of nano-iron phosphate cathode powder and electrode coatings; fabrication of battery cells and modules; and assembly of complete battery pack systems for hybrid and electric vehicles.
KD ABG MI, LLC (Dow Kokam) $161 Midland, MI Production of manganese oxide cathode / graphite lithium-ion batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles.
Compact Power, Inc. (on behalf of LG Chem, Ltd.) $151.4 St. Clair, MI
Pontiac, MI
Holland, MI
Production of lithium-ion polymer battery cells for the GM Volt using a manganese-based cathode material and a proprietary separator.
EnerDel, Inc. $118.5 Indianapolis, IN Production of lithium-ion cells and packs for hybrid and electric vehicles. Primary lithium chemistries include: manganese spinel cathode and lithium titanate anode for high power applications, as well as manganese spinel cathode and amorphous carbon for high energy applications.
General Motors Corporation $105.9 Brownstown, MI Production of high-volume battery packs for the GM Volt. Cells will be from LG Chem, Ltd. and other cell providers to be named.
Saft America, Inc. $95.5 Jacksonville, FL Production of lithium-ion cells, modules, and battery packs for industrial and agricultural vehicles and defense application markets. Primary lithium chemistries include nickel-cobalt-metal and iron phosphate.
Exide Technologies with Axion Power International $34.3 Bristol, TN
Columbus, GA
Production of advanced lead-acid batteries, using lead-carbon electrodes for micro and mild hybrid applications.
East Penn Manufacturing Co. $32.5 Lyon Station, PA Production of the UltraBattery (lead-acid battery with a carbon supercapacitor combination) for micro and mild hybrid applications.

Advanced Battery Supplier Manufacturing Facilities: $235 million

Applicant DOE Award ($mil.) Project locations Technology
Celgard, LLC, a subsidiary of Polypore $49.2 Charlotte, NC
Aiken, SC
Production of polymer separator material for lithium-ion batteries.
Toda America, Inc. $35 Goose Creek, SC Production of nickel-cobalt-metal cathode material for lithium-ion batteries.
Chemetall Foote Corp. $28.4 Silver Peak, NV
Kings Mtn., NC
Production of battery-grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide.
Honeywell International Inc. $27.3 Buffalo, NY
Metropolis, IL
Production of electrolyte salt (lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6)) for lithium-ion batteries.
BASF Catalysts, LLC $24.6 Elyria, OH Production of nickel-cobalt-metal cathode material for lithium-ion batteries.
EnerG2, Inc. $21 Albany, OR Production of high energy density nano-carbon for ultracapacitors.
Novolyte Technologies, Inc. $20.6 Zachary, LA Production of electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries.
FutureFuel Chemical Company $12.6 Batesville, AR Production of high-temperature graphitized precursor anode material for lithium-ion batteries.
Pyrotek, Inc. $11.3 Sanborn, NY Production of carbon powder anode material for lithium-ion batteries.
H&T Waterbury DBA Bouffard Metal Goods $5 Waterbury, CT Manufacturing of precision aluminum casings for cylindrical cells.

Advanced Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Facilities: $9.5 million

Applicant DOE Award ($mil.) Project locations Technology
TOXCO Incorporated $9.5 Lancaster, OH Hydrothermal recycling of lithium-ion batteries.

Electric Drive Component Manufacturing Facilities: $465.1 million

Applicant DOE Award ($mil.) Project locations Technology
General Motors Corporation $105 White Marsh, MD
Wixom, MI
Construction of US manufacturing capabilities to produce the second-generation GM global rear-wheel electric drive system.
Delphi Automotive Systems, LLC $89.3 Kokomo, IN Expansion of manufacturing for existing electric drive power electronics components for both passenger and commercial vehicles.
Allison Transmission, Inc. $62.8 Indianapolis, IN Increasing US capacity to manufacture hybrid systems for the commercial truck market.
Ford Motor Company $62.7 Sterling Heights, MI Producing a Ford electric drive transaxle with integrated power electronics in an existing Ford transmission facility.
Remy, Inc. $60.2 Potential locations in IN: Anderson, Morristown, Greenfield, or Indianapolis
Fargo, ND
Expanding established propulsion systems into a volume manufacturing environment.
UQM Technologies, Inc. $45.1 Muncie, IN
Holly, MI
Increasing production capacity of advanced automotive electric drive system component manufacturing plants located in the US.
Magna E-Car Systems of America, Inc.. $40 Muncie, IN
Holly, MI
Increasing production capacity of advanced automotive electric drive system component manufacturing plants located in the US.

Electric Drive Subcomponent Manufacturing Facilities: $32.3 million

Applicant DOE Award ($mil.) Project locations Technology
KEMET Corporation $15.1 Simpsonville, SC Production of DC bus capacitors including soft wound film and stacked film capacitors necessary for electric drive system power electronics.
SBE, Inc. $9.1 Barre, VT Outfitting of a high-volume manufacturing facility to build DC Bus Capacitors for the electric drive vehicle industry.
Powerex, Inc. $8.1 Youngwood, PA Creating an electric drive semiconductor development, qualification, and production center.

The Recovery Act awards for transportation electrification are, by category:

Advanced Vehicle Electrification: $215.2 million

Applicant DOE Award ($mil.) Project locations Technology
Electric Transportation Engineering Corp. (ETEC) $99.8 Headquarters: Phoenix, AZ Manufacturing: Phoenix, AZ and Northern California Deployment: Portland, Salem, Eugene and Corvallis, OR; Seattle, WA; San Diego, CA; Phoenix and Tucson, AZ; Nashville, Chattanooga, and Knoxville, TN ETEC and its partner Nissan will demonstrate up to 5,000 Nissan electric vehicles with a 100 mile range and deploy up to 12,500 Level 2 and 250 Level 3 chargers.
Chrysler LLC $70 Manufacturing: Warren, MI and St. Louis, MO; Deployment: 11 partner fleets Develop, validate, and deploy 220 advanced plug-in hybrid electric pickups and minivans.
South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) $45.4 Diamond Bar, CA Manufacturing: Galesburg, MI and Elizabethtown, KY; Deployment: 50 different utilities and fleets. Develop a fully integrated, production plug-in hybrid system for Class 2 – 5 vehicles (8,501 – 19,500 lbs gross vehicle weight). Demonstrate a fleet of 378 trucks and shuttle buses.
Navistar, Inc. (Truck) $39.2 Manufacturing: Elkhart County, IN; Deployment: Portland, Chicago, and Sacramento Develop, validate, and deploy 400 advanced battery electric delivery trucks (12,100 lbs. gross vehicle weight) with a 100 mile range.

Transportation Sector Electrification: $22.2 million

Applicant DOE Award ($mil.) Project locations Technology
Cascade Sierra Solutions $22.2 Headquarters: Coburg, OR; Deployment: 50 US truck stop electrification sites Deployment of truck stop electrification infrastructure at 50 sites along major US Interstate corridors and provide 5,450 rebates for truck modification to idle reduction technologies.

Advanced Vehicle Electrification + Transportation Sector Electrification: $70.5 million

Applicant DOE Award ($mil.) Project locations Technology
General Motors $30.5 Manufacturing: Michigan; Deployment: several utility partners’ fleets Develop, analyze, and demonstrate hundreds of Chevrolet Volt Extended Range Electric Vehicles (EREVs) --125 Volt PHEVs for electric utilities and 500 Volt PHEVs to consumers.
Ford Motor Company $30 Manufacturing: Michigan and Kansas City, MO; Deployment: several utility partners’ fleets Accelerate the launch and commercialization of PHEVs and EVs by partnering with 15 of America's leading utilities. Deploy up to 150 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, including 130 Ford Escape PHEVs and 20 Ford E450 Van PHEVs.
Smith Electric Vehicles $10 Manufacturing: Kansas City, MO; Deployment: Several partners’ fleets Develop and deploy up to 100 electric vehicles, such as “Ampere” (Ford Transit Connect EV), “Faraday” (Ford F150 EV conversions), Step Vans, and “Newton” medium-duty trucks.

Advanced Electric Drive Vehicle Education Program: $39.1 million

Applicant DOE Award ($mil.) Project locations Technology
West Virginia University (NAFTC) $6.9 Morgantown, WV State of South Carolina • Educational programs for: Graduate, Undergraduate and Secondary Students; Teachers; Technicians; Emergency Responders; General Public
• Partnering with: NAFTC Headquarters and members; West Virginia Department of Education; South Carolina Department of Education; Greater New Haven Clean Cities Coalition; Innovation Drive, Inc.; Advanced Vehicle Research Center; Auto Exposure LLC; Big Fish Advertising and Public Relations; MotorWeek; Sabre Engineering; Northeast Utilities
Purdue University $6.1 State of Indiana West Lafayette, IN • Educational programs for: Graduate, Undergraduate and Secondary Students; Teachers; Technicians; General Public
• Partnering with: University of Notre Dame; Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI); Purdue University – Calumet; Indiana University – Northwest; Ivy Tech Community College
Colorado State University $5 State of Colorado
State of Georgia
Fort Collins, CO
Boulder, CO
Atlanta, GA
• Educational programs for: Graduate, Undergraduate and Secondary Students; Teachers; Technicians; Emergency Responders; General Public
• Partnering with: CSU; Georgia Institute of Technology; Arapahoe Community College; Douglas County School System; Nissan NA; KShare; Ricardo; AM General; Motion Reality, Inc.
Missouri University of Science and Technology $5 Rolla, MO
Warrensburg, MO
Linn, MO
St. Louis, MO
Kansas City, MO
Lee’s Summit, MO
• Educational programs for: Graduate, Undergraduate and Secondary Students; Teachers; Technicians; Mechanics; Emergency Responders; General Public
• Partnering with: University of Central Missouri; Linn State Technical College; St. Louis Science Center; Smith Electric Vehicles US Corporation (SEV-US); Kokam America Inc.
Wayne State University $5 Detroit, MI
Warren, MI
• Educational programs for: Graduate, Undergraduate and Secondary Students; Teachers; Technicians; Emergency Responders; General Public • Partnering with: NextEnergy; Macomb Community College
National Fire Protection Association $4.4 Quincy, MA • Educational programs for: Graduate, Undergraduate and Secondary Students; General Public
• Partnering with: Argonne National Laboratory; AVL; GM; Eaton; Horiba; MathWorks; Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories; Woodward
Michigan Technological University $2.98 Houghton, MI (Western Upper Peninsula of MI) • Educational programs for: Graduate, Undergraduate and Secondary Students; General Public
• Partnering with: Argonne National Laboratory; AVL; GM; Eaton; Horiba; MathWorks; Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories; Woodward
University of Michigan $2.5 Detroit, MI
Ann Arbor, MI
Dearborn, MI
Flint, MI
• Educational programs for: Graduate, Undergraduate and Secondary Students; Teachers; General Public
• Partnering with: University of Michigan – Dearborn; Kettering University; Ford; GM; Chrysler; Eaton Corp; DTE Energy; Mentor Graphics; Ballard; Quantum Technologies; A123 Systems
J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College $0.72 Commonwealth of Virginia and Neighboring Mid-Atlantic States. • Educational programs for: Secondary Students; Technicians
• Partnering with: James Madison University; Virginia Department of Education; Ford; GM; Toyota; Firestone/Bridgestone
City College of San Francisco $0.5 San Francisco, CA Educational programs for: Secondary Students; Service Personnel, Technicians
• Partnering with: Chabot College; Central Shops; Pat’s Garage; Perfect Sky Inc.

Comments

HealthyBreeze

That's a lot of money. I wonder if and how fast it makes a difference.

I'm not entirely convinced that any of those battery chemistries evolve to get us to a 300 mile/charge electric car for the price of an Accord. If A123 was so great, why did LG Chem get the Volt business?

What do the people on the board think is the most promising line item above?

Pao Chi Pien

The reciprocating internal combustion engine is a device to convert fuel chemical energy into mechanical work. Even though combustion taking place inside the cylinder, it is equivalent to combustion taking place out side the cylinder and the converted heat being transferred to the gas inside the cylinder. The heat so transferred is denoted by Q+. The ensuing expansion process converts a part of the thermal energy into mechanical work. The remaining part of the thermal energy is rejected from the cylinder at the end of expansion process. The heat transferred from inside the cylinder to the outside by the exhaust gas is denoted by Q-. By definition, the thermal efficiency is equal to (Q+ - Q-)/Q+. Heat loss during the combustion process reduces Q+. Heat loss during expansion process increases reduces Q-. Thermodynamic analysis of a reciprocating engine performance can be limited to combustion and expansion processes. The rest of processes are for logistics to replenish cylinder with fresh charge.

The necessary equations of the state to relate working fluid state at point 2 to that at point 1 are derived from idea gas law. Gases have various properties including the gas pressure p, temperature T, mass m, and volume V that contains the gas. If any two of the properties are fixed, the nature of the relationship between the other two is determined as follows. If the pressure and temperature are held constant, the volume of the gas depends directly on the mass. If the mass and temperature are held constant, the product of the pressure and volume is a constant (Boyle’s Law). If the mass and pressure are held constant, the volume is directly proportional to the temperature (Charles’ law). By combining these two laws, pV/T is always a constant when work is done on or by the gas or heat is transferred into or from the gas, as the gas going through a thermodynamic process. Because pV/T is always a constant, the equation p2V2/T2 = p1V1/T1 is true in every instance including when all gas properties are in equilibrium. Therefore, the equation p2V2/T2 = p1V1/T1 is an equation of the state to relate the gas properties in equilibrium at point 2 to that in equilibrium at point 1. According to Dalton’s law, a gas mixture behaves in exactly the same fashion as a pure gas. Therefore, the equation of the state, p2V2/T2 = p1V1/T1, relates working fluid state at point 2 to that at point 1. The pressure reaches equilibrium quickly and thus p2/p1 = (V1/V2)k can be taken as another equation of the state of working fluid. These two equations of the state must be used for applying thermodynamics to the reciprocating internal combustion engines.

National Research Council reviewed yearly progress reports of PNGV project for a decade without realizing that 80 mpg goal was impossible to reach. After spent two billions of dollars, the demised PNGV project was replaced by FredomCar project which will also fail because for both projects, thermodynamics has not been properly applied. National Research Council should recommend further reciprocating engine research by applying thermodynamics before suggesting high-risk projects.

felixkramer

Here's what we said about this at CalCars.org:

We appreciate President Obama announcement of the largest-ever federal funding of the electric battery industry. This $2.4 billion is for manufacturing and deployment--not for research. Batteries are good enough already; further improvements will be icing on the cake. This program will significantly accelerate the availability of components for the new plug-in vehicles coming in the next three years. It will put thousands of vehicles on our roads. It boosts the electrification of larger heavy-duty vehicles. And it begins to demonstrate the feasibility of converting existing vehicles to plug in.

-- Felix Kramer, Founder, The California Cars Initiative

BASKETCASELOVR

With all this money flying around, how long will it take for the big oil companies to dig their way in to the wood work, like the termites they are? Look at what they did with the EV1 batteries! They have monopolized on this and kept the American people from gaining any upper hand! I would gladly invite a car that could be produced for a reasonable price, that would help this planet. Especially if I can plug it in to my PV system that is being installed next month. And if the battery technology is produced, can the average American get this for their own DIY electric car build?

HarveyD

BASKET.....

It is very doubtful that Oil people will succeed to block e-vehicle batteries' mass production, the same way they did for the NiMH units.

Future advanced batteries mass production will be very diversified and will get active and massive government support in many countries. Oil people will have to get on board if they don't want to miss the train.

USA is doing the right thing to accellerate PHEVs and BEVs mass production and reduce oil imports and GHG.

P..C..P:

VW had designed a 100 mpg small advanced diesel car some years ago and could even do better today. Many 100+ mpg PHEVs will be on the roads and streets within 5 years or as soon as lower cost 50+ Kwh e-storage units are available. The 35 mpg CAFE is going to become a farce and is already so for many cars.

Roger Pham

EV tech and Battery tech are quite good already. What the industry needs to work on is cost reduction.

Inductive charging automatically when the EV is parked at designated lots should also be developed and standardized into one national standard. Being able to charge your EV's everywhere you park, automatically, without the driver having to handle the plug, surely will boost consumer confidence in EV's and will prolong battery life, and reduce battery cost and vehicle weight, since a smaller battery can be used.

These type of grants surely will help optimize production and lower cost. There is hope for the USA, afterall!

ai_vin

Speaking of the EV1; one thing I noticed that was missing[or if it was there I didn't see it] from those lists of companies getting gov money was the company that owns the patent on the EV1's NiMH batteries. Revenge is sweet, Chevron didn't want to make any money selling us the batteries and now they get no money to make them.

sulleny

All in all it looks a lot like the U.S. is leading the electrification of transport. The single best technology solution to lowering fossil use (besides biofuels.)

Roger, inductive charging is a convenience that may not be cost efficient. And drivers are thoroughly used to handling energy refills. A hose spilling volatile toxic liquid has been the only way to refuel for a hundred years. Plugging in a charge cable should not be too much of a burden.

ToppaTom

If they are going to throw billions of dollars around, this is better than throwing it away; I think. It’s not like we need it for education, debt, health care etc.

They say “These projects, selected through a highly competitive process by the Department of Energy (DOE),”
Notice they don’t even claim impartiality, integrity, good judgment, best return on investment, fairness, transparency, etc. Just highly competitive; gee I’m really glad to know the petitioners tried hard.

I am far from convinced batteries are ready yet – I am sure CalCars believes they are.

Of course business and journalism majors believe any technology can be made affordable just by increasing the production volume.

The reason the EV1 and the EV Rav4 and the Insight 1 did not become market successes is because the technology was not ready – I suspect it is still a few years away.

As for the NiMH battery patent phantasy, the Romulans have purchased the patents from ECD's Ovonic Battery for their interstellar space ships.

Another thing I noticed on those lists of companies getting gov money was the company that supposedly rode the EV to glory – Toyota gets a small part of 0.72 million.

“ .. this $2.4 billion investment … will result directly in the creation tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs in the US battery and auto industries. “

ETEC and Nissan will demonstrate up to 5,000 Nissan electric vehicles with a 100 mile range and deploy up to 12,500 Level 2 and 250 Level 3 chargers. Good luck landing those jobs.

danm

Toppatom, the reason the EV1 did not succeed is that gas prices were so low.
If a gallon of gas, in 1996, had cost $3 the EV1 would have sold.
The best thing that could happen to EV's today is a gasoline price spike....the higher the better.

Mark_BC

The reason the EV1 didn't succeed is because Chevron got the patent on it, I don't know why that's so difficult to grasp. When you go down to the store to buy a AA rechargeable battery there's a reason why it's NiMH.

Reel$$

The PbA batteries in EV1 sucked. Bad in cold, short on mileage and long on cost to replace. It is probable that the Ovonics NiMH patent was thrown under the bus by the hardline petroleum guys running Chevron. Stupid? They could still be selling gas AND making fees on EV batteries if they hadn't panicked.

Lesson? With six billion critters, there's plenty to go around.

ejj

This is excellent but I'd also like to see an improvement in the quality of the roads across America. The Germans have some of the highest standards in the world for roads...American roads are way behind the Germans and many other developed countries. It's really embarassing how some of our roads are in hellish shape - like washboards in some places.

ai_vin

Yeah but German drivers pay for the up keep of those roads through higher fuel taxes; the German fuel tax was $6.50/gallon in 2006.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/12/17/INGT8MV4SM1.DTL

Bryan

I'll say it... I don't hate this. Spending money on R&D is the most market-friendly approach to promoting new technology.

niner

I think some of you don't understand the concept of "economic stimulus". They have spent massive amounts of money very rapidly, and it may well have saved us from economic disaster. I wouldn't quibble about whether or not these projects are perfect. A year ago the entire amount probably would have gone to the oil industry. Count your blessings.

Bryan

niner-

That is a bit of an oversimplification. Bush was not a good president, but he wasn't as much of a cardboard character that the media would have you believe. Most alternative energy programs currently in progress were enacted by Bush.

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