President Obama Announces Billions in ARRA Funds for EVs and Batteries

8/5/2009 12:00:00 AM

Announcement marks single largest investment ever made, will fund 48 projects in 20 states…

Elkhart, Indiana, August 5, 2009 – President Barack Obama announced today an unprecedented investment in the manufacturing and deployment of electric vehicles, batteries and components in the US, outlining $2.4 billion in new projects (pdf) in 20 states that will be funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  "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," the President said.  Added Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu, “these are incredibly effective investments that will come back to us many times over – by creating jobs, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, cleaning up the air we breathe, and combating climate change. They will help achieve the President’s goal of putting one million plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road by 2015. And, most importantly, they will launch an advanced battery industry in America and make our auto industry cleaner and more competitive.”  The President’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 manufacturing jobs in the U.S. battery and auto industries. The new awards were made to the following areas:  $1.5 billion in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce batteries and their components and to expand battery recycling capacity; $500 million in grants to U.S. 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.  Among those companies receiving awards are Navistar International which will receive a $39 million grant to manufacture electric trucks; A123 and Johnson Controls, will receive a total of approximately $550 million to establish a manufacturing base in the state for advanced batteries; large automakers, 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. Saft America, Inc. will receive a $95.5 million grant to construct a new plant to manufacture lithium-ion cells, modules and battery packs for military, industrial, and agricultural vehicles.  UQM Technologies will receive $45.1 million to expend established propulsion systems into a volume manufacturing environment; and Allison Transmission, which will receive $62.8 million to increase US capacity to manufacture hybrid systems for the commercial truck market. 

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