USABC Awards $23.6 Million in Advanced Battery Development Contracts
The United States Advanced Battery Consortium LLC (USABC), a division of USCAR, recently announced approximately $23.6 million in advanced battery development and technology assessment contracts to four firms.
The competitively bid contract awards are funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and include a 50 percent cost-share from each of the contracted companies.
USABC awarded the contracts to develop and assess advanced energy storage technologies for hybrid-electric vehicles (HEV), a lower-energy energy storage system (LEESS) for power-assist hybrid-electric vehicles (PAHEV) and electric vehicle (EV) applications.
The companies receiving advanced battery development contracts are:
- Cobasys LLC of Orion, Mich., a subsidiary of SB LiMotive, which was awarded a three-year $8.36 million contract for the development of high-energy lithium-ion cells for use in EV applications. The contract will include the design, development, delivery and validation of conforming design-intent cells, and through the design, development, delivery and verification of a 40kWh technology demonstration battery pack.
- A123 Systems Inc. of Watertown, Mass., which was awarded a two-year $8 million contract to continue developing its Nanophosphate® lithium ion battery systems to meet USABC’s targets for a Power-Assist Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PAHEV) Low-Energy Energy Storage System (LEESS). The new LEESS requirements call for a smaller, lighter, lower-cost battery cell with higher regenerative power capability, lower energy and improved cold-crank capability.
- Maxwell Technologies Inc. of San Diego, Calif., which which was awarded $7.01 million for a two-year ultracapacitor program to help develop technology that will double existing capacitor power density from 10 to 20 kilowatts per kilogram (kW/kg) and double existing energy density from 15 to 30 watt-hours per kilogram Wh/kg. The advanced ultracapacitors then will be integrated into modules that will be evaluated against the USABC goals for LEESS applications.
In addition, SK Energy Co. LTD of Seoul, South Korea, was awarded a one-year $195,149 technology assessment contract to evaluate the performance, cycle life and accelerated calendar life of the company’s EV batteries against USABC goals.
“We are pleased to announce the awarding of these contracts as part of USABC’s broad battery technology research and development programs,” said Steve Zimmer, executive director of USCAR. “These programs are essential to advance the technology needed to meet both near- and long-term goals that will enable a broad spectrum of vehicle electrification.”
USABC is a subsidiary of the United States Council for Automotive Research LLC (USCAR). Enabled by a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), USABC’s mission is to develop electrochemical energy storage technologies that support commercialization of electric, hybrid electric and fuel cell vehicles. As such, USABC has developed mid- and long-term goals to guide its projects and measure their progress.
The U.S. DOE’s overarching mission is to advance the national, economic and energy security of the United States. DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Program works with industry, academia and national laboratories to develop advanced transportation technologies that reduce the nation’s use of imported oil and increase our energy security. Electrochemical energy storage has been identified as a critical enabling technology for advanced, fuel-efficient, light and heavy-duty vehicles.
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