Compact Power Inc is on something of a roll lately. They and parent LG Chem of South Korea have reportedly won contracts supply lithium ion batteries to Hyundai/Kia for upcoming hybrid models and are rumored to be the front runner to the supply contract for the production Chevrolet Volt. CPI's latest deal comes from the United States Advanced Battery Consortium. USABC is a research consortium comprised of the three domestic automakers along with funding from the Department of Energy for basic research into battery technology. The $12.9 million contract to CPI will cover development work on lithium batteries for plug-in hybrid vehicles with a 10-mile electric range.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]

A123 Systems has just earned yet another development contract for developing lithium ion cells for plug-in hybrid applications. The US Advanced Battery Consortium and the Department of Energy have awarded a $12.5 million, 36 month contract to A123. The company has already been working on several automotive plug-in hybrid battery applications including the Saturn Vue PHEV and the Chevy Volt. A123 also purchased Hymotion last year, a company that has been developing plug-in conversion kits for existing hybrids. The first retail Hymotion kit using A123 cells is due to be available this summer for the Prius.

The USABC contract calls for A123 to focus on improving the energy density of cells for plug-in applications. The A123 battery chemistry is of interest to automakers because of its inherent stability compared to the lithium metal oxide chemistry used for consumer electronics batteries. However, the more stable chemistry from A123 has lower energy density. The goal is to improve that characteristic for so-called charge depleting applications that are designed to run longer on electricity alone. The three-year program will also try to reduce cost, improve durability and make the cells more resistant to abuse.

[Source: US Advanced Battery Consortium]

The US Department of Energy has committed to contributing $14 million dollars to a $28 million project being run by the US Advanced Battery Consortium. The USABC is part of the United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) which is an umbrella organization for US based carmakers to do joint research into advanced technologies. The battery project is part of an effort develop commercially viable batteries for plug-in hybrid vehicles that would allow for forty miles of electric driving range. The goals of the project are to identify battery chemistries that can last the life of the car without replacement, keep cost to a manageable level and provide the necessary levels of performance under the range of driving conditions that a mass produced car would encounter.

[Source: Department of Energy]