United States – The DOE announced $200 million in financing over the next five years for electric vehicles, batteries, and connected cars research at DOE national labs and new DOE partnerships to encourage electric vehicle innovation.
The $200 million in funding for national labs, subject to authorization, aims to develop electric vehicle innovations in order to decarbonize the transportation industry, which is the leading producer of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Vehicle Technologies Office (VTOC) is managing the funds.
This grant reinforced VTO’s $62 million funding opportunity for cutting emissions and enhancing efficiency for on- and off-road vehicles, which was announced in April 2021. Applicants for projects will be required to submit a strategy for attaining diversity, equality, and inclusion goals, such as supporting people from underrepresented groups in STEM, improving equality within the project team, and providing benefits for underprivileged communities.
Securing America’s clean energy future
Advanced lithium-ion batteries play a crucial role in 21st-century technologies such as electric vehicles, stationary grid storage, and defense applications, all of which are important to guaranteeing America’s clean energy future. Today, the United States significantly relies on imported advanced battery components, exposing the country to supply chain vulnerabilities that threaten to disrupt the availability and affordability of these technologies, as well as the workforce that makes them.
The blueprint, developed by the Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries (FCAB), underscores the need for strong collaboration across the federal government, U.S. academic institutions, national laboratories, industrial stakeholders, and international allies.
ESGC
The Department of Energy’s initiatives to bolster the domestic lithium battery supply chain will also benefit the Energy Storage Grand Challenge (ESGC). The ESGC is a comprehensive program designed to speed the development, production, and use of next-generation energy storage technologies while also ensuring American leadership in energy storage around the world.
