Stimulus package could include big bucks for advanced batteries

With congressional leaders and the incoming Obama administration working on a new economic stimulus package, everyone is angling for a piece of the pie. That includes car and battery manufacturers. With politicians pushing hard for even more stringent fuel economy and CO₂ regulations as well as directly pressuring the Detroit car companies to build plug-in vehicles in exchange for financial aid, battery development needs to be accelerated. John Dingell (D-MI) and the rest of the Michigan delegation are preparing to push for at least $1 billion in funding for advanced batteries. Exactly how that will be funded is still unclear. It could come from the existing $25 billion that was allocated in the 2007 energy bill and there have also been proposals to double that funding. In addition to the $1 billion for research and development, additional funds will likely be needed to pay for putting in manufacturing capacity for batteries.

[Source: Detroit News]