President Obama Wednesday 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 by the Department of Energy (DOE), aim to accelerate the development of U.S. manufacturing capacity for batteries and electric drive components as well as the deployment of electric drive vehicles.
"If we want to reduce our dependence on oil, put Americans back to work and reassert our manufacturing sector as one of the greatest in the world, we must produce the advanced, efficient vehicles of the future," Obama said while visiting a plant in Wakarusa, Indiana, owned by Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV), which will receive a $39 million grant to manufacture electric trucks.
Wednesday’s 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 energy storage jobs in the U.S. battery and auto industries.
The awards cover the following areas: $1.5 billion in grants to U.S.-based manufacturers to produce batteries and their components; $500 million to produce electric drive components for vehicles; and $400 million to purchase thousands of plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles for test demonstrations in several dozen locations.
Vice President Joe Biden and four Members of the Cabinet also fanned out across the country to discuss the historic announcement.
Vice President Biden was in Detroit to announce over $1 billion in grants to universities and companies based in Michigan–the largest share of grant funding of any state. Two companies, A123 Systems and Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), 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 over $300 million for manufacturing battery cells and materials.
Large automakers based in Michigan, including GM, Chrysler, and Ford (NYSE: F), 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.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu, whose Department selected the 48 award winners, visited Celgard, in Charlotte, NC, to announce a $49 million grant for the company to expand its separator production capacity to serve the expected increased demand for lithium-ion batteries from manufacturing facilities in the U.S. Celgard will be expanding its manufacturing capacity in Charlotte, NC and nearby Aiken, SC, and the company expects the new separator production to come online in 2010.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson was in St. Petersburg, FL, to announce a $95.5 million grant for Saft America, Inc. to construct a new plant in Jacksonville on the site of the former Cecil Field military base, to manufacture lithium-ion cells, modules and battery packs for military, industrial, and agricultural vehicles.
Deputy Secretary of the Department of Transportation John Porcari visited East Penn Manufacturing Co., in Lyon Station, Penn., to award the company a $32.5 million grant 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.
Commerce Secretary Gary Locke visited Kansas City, Missouri, to announce a $10 million grant for Smith Electric to build and deploy up to 100 electric vehicles, including vans, pickups, and their "Newton" brand medium duty trucks.
Other companies receiving funding include:
EnerDel, Inc ($118.5 million) — Production of lithium-ion cells and packs for hybrid and electric vehicles.
Toda America, Inc ($35 million) — Production of nickel-cobalt-metal cathode material for lithium-ion batteries.
A full list of companies and universities is available at the link below.
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