U.S. battery power stimulus money matched

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. stimulus money for advanced battery and electric vehicle grants has been matched at least dollar for dollar, the U.S. Department of Energy said.

The economic stimulus money, intended to create jobs and promote investment and consumer spending during the recession, is also projected to increase U.S. production of the world's batteries for hybrid and electric cars to 40 percent by 2015 from 2 percent this year, the department said.

The announcement came on the eve of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Holland, Mich., for the groundbreaking of a Compact Power Inc. factory.

The company, a subsidiary of South Korean conglomerate LG Corp., received $151 million in federal stimulus money last year to open the plant, which will make lithium-ion cells for plug-in hybrids and employ a projected 450 people by 2013.

The stimulus money was matched more than dollar-for-dollar by the company, the Energy Department said.

Compact Power lithium-ion batteries will be used in Chevrolet Volt, and will start selling in select U.S. markets in November.

Compact Power batteries will also be used in new electric versions of the Ford Focus - to be known as the Ford Focus BEV - which Ford Motor Co. plans to bring to market next year.

The Volt battery is designed to run an average 40 miles on a charge. The Focus battery is designed to run 100 miles.

Hundred-mile electric-car batteries costing $33,000 now could drop to $16,000 by 2013 and to $10,000 by 2015, due to the economic-stimulus money, the energy department said.

Forty-mile batteries costing $13,000 now are projected to fall to $6,700 by 2013 and to $4,000 by 2015, the department said.