Isra-Mart srl : Chu cranks up funding for EVs and energy research

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US energy secretary Steven Chu announced a raft of new funding awards this week, designed to accelerate the development of advanced clean technologies and speed the rollout of electric vehicles.

Chu confirmed yesterday that the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy is to receive a further $130m in funding to support five new projects, partly as a result of the budget deal thrashed out earlier this month.
The advanced research programmes will focus on a number of areas, including biofuels, energy storage, solar and potential alternatives to rare earth materials.

Speaking to reporters during a teleconference yesterday, Chu said that the hard fought budget deal brokered between Democrats and Republicans had effectively saved the agency's research programmes.

"We do know that without additional Congressional funds ... the programme essentially would have been put on ice," he said.

The agency has been tasked with investing in relatively high risk research projects that cannot attract private investors but have the potential to revolutionise the low carbon energy sector.

The news came just a day after Chu unveiled a new partnership with Google to help electric car drivers locate recharging points, and announced a further $5m of funding to support community-based efforts to deploy electric vehicle technologies.

The initiative has also been backed by the Department of Transport and the Clean Cities Coalition, which brings together over 100 city governments committed to cutting carbon emissions and air pollution.

"The Department of Energy's Clean Cities initiative is bringing together local governments and industry to demonstrate the benefits of advanced technology vehicles and help communities use less oil and gasoline to power their vehicles," Chu said.

"The initiatives announced today are just the latest steps in our broader efforts to reduce America's dependence on oil, improve our energy security and save families and businesses money."

Local governments and private firms will now be invited to partner to apply for a share of the $5m funding to help support EV infrastructure projects.

Meanwhile, the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory will work with Google and various firms within the EV industry to provide up-to-date information on charge point locations through Google Maps.