The White House on August 5 announced that Indiana-based automotive lithium-ion battery maker EnerDel Inc. will receive $118.5 million in federal grant funding under the stimulus package passed last spring. The funds will help double the company's U.S. production capacity, creating approximately 1,700 new jobs in the state. Word came in separate speeches by President Obama in Elkhart, Ind., and Vice President Joe Biden in Detroit.
EnerDel, the lithium-ion battery subsidiary of Ener1 Inc., is one of nine companies selected to receive funds for cell, battery and materials manufacturing grants in a broadly subscribed solicitation managed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). EnerDel received the full amount it requested. In all, 48 companies in the electric and hybrid vehicle sector received a total of $2.4 billion in awards on August 5.
"This is about planting the roots of a critical industry firmly in American soil," said Ener1 chairman and CEO Charles Gassenheimer. "The economic benefits associated with this government investment will stretch far beyond the battery industry. Carmakers in North America, foreign and domestic, are counting on advanced battery systems to power an entire new generation of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles."
The grants will work together with the applied for long-term, low-interest loans under DOE's Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program (ATVM), in unleashing private capital flows to companies in this sector. EnerDel is in advanced stages of discussions with DOE regarding its ATVM application.
"These government incentives will provide a powerful stimulus to a vital industry and help ensure that the batteries eventually powering millions of cars around the world carry the stamp 'Made in the USA,'” Gassenheimer said.
EnerDel is the first and so far only company in the industry to have built facilities in the United States to produce automotive lithium-ion batteries on a commercial scale, and recently unveiled one of the most advanced battery cell production lines in the world at its plant in Indiana. The company also recently announced partnership projects with Volvo and Nissan, as well as with plug-in and electric vehicle makers Fisker and Think Global.
"We are in a race today that will decide who will make the technology to power future generations of fuel-efficient vehicles around the world," said EnerDel CEO Ulrik Grape. "Korea, Japan and China are doing everything they can to win it, but with these new resources, the Obama administration is helping America's best, most innovative players move ahead of the pack."
"Economic growth is not a Democratic or Republican issue. This effort has been a model of bi-partisan cooperation by Senators Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh, and by Governor Mitch Daniels," Grape said. "Their support has been tremendously important."
The funds will help EnerDel in mass-producing a high-quality automotive product with a wide range of engineering capabilities for multiple automotive requirements, including high-speed, automated production lines for cell electrode manufacturing, and lean-manufacturing techniques for battery assembly.
Still in its early stages today, the lithium-ion battery industry is rapidly emerging as a manufacturing and high-tech corner stone in the world economy. Suppliers are already springing up to produce other electric drivetrain components and the materials needed to produce them, creating jobs and opportunity for communities across this country, many of them hard hit by the economic downturn.
About EnerDel
EnerDel, a subsidiary of Ener1 Inc., develops and manufactures compact, high performance lithium-ion batteries to power the next generation of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles. Led by an experienced team of engineers and energy system experts, the company is building proprietary innovations based on technology originally pioneered with the assistance of Argonne National Laboratory.
EnerDel produces its batteries at its state-of-the-art facilities in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is expecting to be the first company to mass-produce a cost-competitive lithium-ion battery for hybrid and electric vehicles. In addition to the automobile market, applications for EnerDel lithium-ion battery technology include medical, military, aerospace, electric utility and other growing markets.