The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced more than $131 million for projects to advance clean mobility, with $71 million from Fiscal Year 2023 project funding (DE-FOA-0002893, earlier post) awarded to 27 projects.

In addition, the United States Advanced Battery Consortium LLC (USABC) of Southfield, Michigan, will receive $60 million for pre-competitive, vehicle-related advanced battery R&D that addresses critical priorities for the next phase of widescale EV commercialization. The consortium will focus on R&D for EV batteries with enhanced performance; EV batteries using earth-abundant and domestically available battery materials; light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicle batteries; and more cost-efficient battery recycling processes.

Funded through DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the 27 selected projects aim to:

• Lower the cost of EV batteries using inexpensive, abundant materials by developing long life-cycle, high-energy density lithium sulfur batteries; (7 projects, $17.8 million total funding)

• Improve the efficiency and convenience of public transportation by developing and demonstrating system-level approaches to equitable mobility access;

• Advance on-board EV charging systems through the research and demonstration of innovative EV charging systems, including bi-directional charging;

• Increase EV drive range by developing sustainable lightweight materials, including door panels and EV battery enclosures;

• Support the development of alternative fuel medium- and heavy duty engines, with specific projects investigating hydrogen and dimethyl ether engines. (4 projects, $13 million total)