The Department of Energy (DOE) has committed $209 million in funding to 26 national laboratory projects that are aimed at improving advanced lithium batteries for connected and electric-powered vehicles.
The awardees will research ways to reduce the cost and size of lithium batteries, enable full charging in less than 15 minutes, prevent energy grid impacts on electric vehicles, streamline car-to-car communications and reduce power consumption, DOE said Wednesday.
According to the agency, the projects will help strengthen the domestic battery supply chain of the U.S., which currently relies mostly on advanced components built in other countries.
“By developing smarter vehicle batteries, we can make these technologies cheaper and more accessible, while positioning America to [become] a global leader of EV infrastructure production and clean energy jobs,” explained Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
The funding comes at the same time as the launch of Li-Bridge, a public-private partnership by the agency’s Argonne National Laboratory with a goal of bridging gaps in the U.S. supply chain.
