DOE Invests $200 Million To Decarbonize American Vehicles
The U.S Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $200 million investment in electric vehicles, batteries, and connected vehicles project at DOE national labs, as well as new partnerships designed to support electric vehicles innovations.
The funding, to be made over 5 years, is open to DOE’s network and it aims to help decarbonize the transportation sector, which is the number one source for greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.
Kelly Speakes-Backman, Acting Assistant Secretary, said:
“We’re focusing on the entire battery supply chain from soup to nuts – from sustainable mining and processing to manufacturing and recycling – which will translate to thousands of new jobs across the country and put more clean-running electric vehicles on the road.”
The lithium-based batteries find usage in technologies such as electric vehicles, grid storage, and defense applications that are essential for America’s clean energy future. DOE is working towards strengthening the domestic lithium battery supply chain which resonates with the Energy Storage Grand Challenge (ESGC), a program designed to enhance the development and the utilization of next-generation energy storage technologies.
The announcement compliments the DOE’s $62 million investment to improve efficiency and reduce carbon emissions among trucks, cars, and off-road vehicles. Since the start of the Biden Administration, the DOE has also made several announcements supporting his pledge to put climate innovation and action at the forefront of policy, including the $100 million in funding for transformative clean energy technology research and development as well as the goal to halve the cost of solar energy by 2030.
The announcement follows similar moves in other countries to help decarbonize the transportation sector. Last year, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the country will end the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, as part of his 10-point plan for the UK’s Green Industrial Revolution.