Five companies will share $5.43 million in advanced battery development and technology assessment contracts.
The contracts, given by the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC), a research collaboration among Chrsyler Group, Ford Motor Co., and General Motors Co., are competitively bid contracts funded by the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) and include a 50% cost-share from each of the contracted companies.
The five contracts will focus on the development and assessment of 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 the contracts are:
Envia Systems Inc. of Newark, Calif., was awarded a $3.65 million contract for a three-year project to develop a high-energy cathode material for vehicle applications and pouch cells that exhibit performance metrics that meet or exceed the minimum USABC EV goals.
Quallion LLC of Los Angeles, Calif., was awarded a $1.41 million contract for an 18-month technology assessment of its Matrix battery design, a hybridized battery pack using a mixture of high power and high-energy lithium-ion cells, and to demonstrate the performance of the packs against USABC EV goals.
ActaCell Inc. of Austin, Texas, was awarded $179,015 for a 16-month technology assessment contract to evaluate the company’s high-power lithium-ion cells for increased cycle and storage life against USABC PAHEV goals.
Leyden Energy Inc. of Freemont, Calif., was awarded a $117,733 contract for an eight-month technology assessment of its lithium-ion technology for EV applications in a pouch cell and to evaluate them against USABC EV battery goals.
K2 Energy Solutions Inc. of Henderson, Nev., was awarded a $73,644 contract for a 12-month technology assessment of the company’s 51 amp-hour (Ah) cells and planned 45 Ah cells configured in “flat-pack” modular batteries and large laminated cells in relation to USABC EV battery targets.
“We are pleased to announce the award 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.”
