Michigan to get big slice of $2.4 billion in battery grants

Michigan gets a larger slice of the federal dollars to stimulate the development and production of advanced batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles than any other state.

Administration officials said in a briefing that of 48 grants approved under the program, 11 are in Michigan. Details about specific grants weren’t released, but administration officials indicated several automakers were among the winners. Executives and advanced technology vehicles from all three Detroit automakers were invited to Biden’s announcement and were officials from Dow Chemical Corp, which also had submitted a proposal under the program.

The plan was designed to establish a U.S. manufacturing base for electric vehicle batteries and motors that must now be imported from Asia, where batteries for nearly all of today’s hybrids are made today. General Motors Co. has said it will import from South Korea the first batteries for its revolutionary Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid until its partners can set up a manufacturing plant in Michigan.

With automakers rapidly moving into electric vehicles, President Barack Obama and much of Washington have backed the idea of boosting U.S. firms of all sizes to avoid swapping dependence on foreign oil for a dependence on foreign batteries.

The $2.4 billion includes $1.5 billion to boost battery manufacturing, $500 million for work developing other parts for electric vehicles and $400 million for test fleets of electric and plug-in hybrid models. Companies that win the grants must match them dollar-for-dollar with their own investment.