The popularity of alternate forms of energy has historically been pegged to the price of a barrel of oil. Foreign-oil dependency and greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are two key drivers that inspired the "green" revolution. The advancement of alternative energy technology is being supported by government grants that promote research and development on a new generation of electric vehicles.
A combination of battery power and the conventional gasoline engine propels electric vehicles on the road today. The plug-in hybrid electric vehicle has a battery pack for its main power source. As the battery begins to discharge, an electric generator driven by the conventional engine kicks in to recharge it and also runs the electric-drive motor. In contrast, the all-electric vehicle relies totally on battery power and does not have a generator to extend its driving range. However, both models have provisions for their batteries to be recharged by plugging an AC power cord into a receptacle on the vehicle.
The Obama administration announced that $2.4 billion was appropriated to fund projects in over 20 states related to developing the next generation of electric vehicles. The Department of Energy will select the projects. An equal share in matching contributions will come from private-sector grant awardees. The projects will focus on research and development of advanced battery and electric-drive technologies.
Battery cost, size, weight and performance are key factors in electric vehicles. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, $1.5 billion in grants will be earmarked for battery research and development. The U.S. Department of Energy expects the cost of a 100-mile range battery to drop from $33,000 to $16,000 by 2013.
Lithium-ion batteries have a higher energy density and are lighter and more compact than the conventional lead-acid automotive batteries. Breakthroughs in exotic-materials research holds promise of producing a battery with 10 times the energy density of lithium-ion at a third of the cost.
Widespread adoption of electric vehicles is dependent on a vast network of commercial battery-charging stations to extend driving range onto a national scale.
Under the Recovery Act, 20,000 residential, commercial and public charging stations are planned to be available nationwide by 2013. In line with this initiative, Coulomb Technologies received a $15 million grant to deploy 5,000 residential and commercial charging stations and 2,600 electric vehicles in nine major U.S. metropolitan areas. Other infrastructure players include Better Place and ECOtality.
The United Kingdom announced that its government would offer a "Plug-in Car Grant" of 5,000 GBP to buyers of electric vehicles, or ultra-low-carbon cars, starting January 2011. In Ireland, electric-car buyers can receive government grants of 5,000 euros and exemption from car registration fees.
