Tech in Trucking:  Powering up electric vehicles

The electric vehicle industry is getting a major shot in the arm with $2.4 billion in grants from the U.S. Dept. of Energy. The funding comes from the $787 billion in spending and tax cuts encompassed within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or stimulus bill, passed by Congress in February.

“This marks the single largest investment in advanced battery technology for hybrid and electric-drive vehicles ever made,” said Sec. of Energy Steven Chu. “This will help achieve President Obama’s goal of putting one million plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road by 2015. And, most importantly, it will launch an advanced battery industry in America and make our auto industry cleaner and more competitive.”

The grants focus on  three key areas:

• Roughly $1.5 billion for battery and battery component production, plus battery recycling.
  
• Some $500 million for production of electric drive vehicle components, motors and electronics.
  
• $400 million to fund purchase incentives for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles for demonstrations, as well as funds to build recharging infrastructure and workforce training.  

“This is transformational, and not just in terms of the dollar amount,” Jennifer Watts, spokesperson for the Electric Drive Transportation Assn., told American Trucker. “This level of investment creates a strong policy direction for electric vehicles, making them appeal to investors over both the medium and long term.”

It’s also critical that the grants are “across the board” in the electric vehicle industry, funding not just vehicle development but the creation of recharging infrastructure while funding battery research. “You can’t just have a shot in the arm in one area of this industry,” Watts explained. “It brings everyone to the table—electric car and truck makers, battery makers, etc.”

For example, Navistar received $39 million to develop and build all-electric delivery vehicles in partnership with British electric truck maker Modec. The plans call for electric Class 2 and 3 commercial vehicles primarily for urban and suburban pickup and delivery service.

Navistar said plans call for building 400 of the all-electric, light-duty trucks in 2010. The company expects that within a couple of years, several thousand such vehicles will be produced annually.