DOE Battery Goal: 3X Range at One-Third the Cost
A new U.S. Dept. of Energy initiative seeks to develop electric car batteries that can triple driving range and slash by two-thirds.
#hybrid
A new U.S. Dept. of Energy initiative seeks to develop electric car batteries that can triple driving range and slash by two-thirds.
The program, dubbed RANGE (Robust Affordable Next-Generation EV Storage), will award a total of about $20 million to as many as 12 projects. If successful, DOE says, the effort will enable carmakers to produce EVs at a cost and range comparable to cars with conventional internal combustion powertrains.
Awards will be made by the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. ARPA-E says it is looking for innovative systems that are immune to catastrophic failure such as thermal runaway that can occur with lithium-ion batteries. The agency notes that such solutions would free carmakers from the need to shield batteries from crash damage.
ARPA-E also seeks "multifunctional" designs, meaning batteries that could shoulder a vehicle's structural load or help absorb crash energy.
Primary technical targets include a manufacturing cost of less than $125 per kilowatt-hour, effective specific energy greater than 150 Watt-hours per kilogram and effective energy density greater than 230 Watt-hours per liter.
Applicants must submit a proposal by March 21. Details are available HERE.
RELATED CONTENT
-
TRW Multi-Axis Acceleration Sensors Developed
Admittedly, this appears to be nothing more than a plastic molded part with an inserted bolt-shaped metal component.
-
GM Develops a New Electrical Platform
GM engineers create a better electrical architecture that can handle the ever-increasing needs of vehicle systems
-
On Electric Pickups, Flying Taxis, and Auto Industry Transformation
Ford goes for vertical integration, DENSO and Honeywell take to the skies, how suppliers feel about their customers, how vehicle customers feel about shopping, and insights from a software exec