$2 Billion in Grants to Bolster U.S. Manufacturing of Parts for Electric Cars

New York Times (8/5, Wald) – Seeking to put the nation back in the lead on an important technology, the Obama administration awarded more than $2 billion in grants on Wednesday for manufacturing advanced batteries and other components for electric cars… Sarwant Singh, a consultant at Frost & Sullivan, said the [battery] business should work well in the United States, because only 10 percent to 15 percent of the cost of a battery was labor. “There’s no reason that this battery should be manufactured in China,” he said. “There’s no reason to look for a low-cost manufacturing base; you should look for a high-tech manufacturing base.”

In most cases, the recipients were required to match the federal money dollar for dollar. Some companies that received grants make chemicals for batteries, or components for chemical batteries. Several make capacitors, which are mechanical devices that can absorb or give off jolts of electricity in a few seconds. Those are useful in electric vehicles, for getting them moving or soaking up the electricity they can produce when the driver applies the brakes. The money comes from the economic stimulus package and is intended to further several goals: cutting dependence on petroleum, reducing carbon emissions, creating jobs and giving the United States a better start on what is likely to be a competitive global industry as companies start bringing electric cars to market.