US DOE announces $43M funding for advanced EV battery innovation and research
August 21, 2024
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $43 million in funding for projects that will advance research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) in several areas critical to the future of advanced batteries.
The funding aims to drive innovations in low-cost electric vehicle (EV) battery electrode, cell, or pack manufacturing, improve battery safety and reduce cascading failures, and strengthen the domestic supply chain of inexpensive and abundant battery materials.
This funding is aligned with strategies detailed in the US National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, which is an interagency framework of strategies and actions to remove all emissions from the transportation sector by 2050, by advancing battery technologies that can power safe and efficient zero-emission EVs.
DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) will supply the funding and build on the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s leadership in RDD&D of new technologies leading to efficient, clean, and affordable mobility options. Topic areas in VTO’s Fiscal Year 2024 Batteries funding opportunity include:
- Improving 12V lead-acid battery service life and performance requirements to meet critical safety features while reducing cost
- Developing cell, module, pack, vehicle, or structural strategies that reduce cascading effects of thermal issues that could lead to EV fires
- Conducting research and development that would reduce the manufacturing cost at the electrode, cell, or pack level by at least 30% compared to the state-of-the-art and increase throughput by at least 50% compared to the state-of-the-art
- Researching, fabricating, and testing silicon-based lithium battery cells that meet EV battery performance requirements
- Developing high-energy density cathodes containing metal chalcogenide, oxide, or halide materials that surpass the energy density of state-of-the-art nickel cathodes
As part of this approach, VTO encourages the participation of underserved communities and underrepresented groups. Applicants are highly encouraged to include individuals from groups historically underrepresented in STEM on their project teams.
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