Late last week during the Washington Auto Show, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz unveiled two programs that will provide approximately $58 million in funding to develop advanced vehicle technology.
President Obama has spurred investment in the domestic automobile industry in an effort to make plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) as affordable as gasoline-powered vehicles. These efforts have now been monetized by $55 million in funding that will be shared by private industry, national laboratories and university teams for projects that involve energy storage, electric drive systems, materials, fuels, lubricants and advanced combustion.
The Department of Energy also will give projects at CALSTART and the National Association of Regional Councils $3 million. These two companies are creating systems that will help other companies save money by combining the purchase of advanced vehicles, components and infrastructure.
Moniz said the investment in these new technologies would help create cost-effective vehicles, while also decreasing carbon emissions and supporting the DOE's goal in the EV Everywhere Grand Challenge of making PEVs as affordable as gas-powered cars by 2022.
"Our work refining cars that are efficient, affordable and can plug into the grid will also help propel us to even greater progress on reducing pollution and boosting energy security," Moniz said.
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