Wednesday, President Barack Obama outlined a plan for the United States government to fund 48 different battery related projects. The government is mostly looking for more energy efficient batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles. The total project includes an estimated $2.4 billion dollars in allocated stimulus grants to help create business and jobs in the midwest. President Obama exclaimed that he wanted "the cars of the future and the technology to power them" built in the United States. Plus, businesses need to invest a dollar for almost every dollar received in grants, equaling out to a little under 5 billion dollars in total battery tech investments.
While the grants deal mostly with the batteries and electric-drive systems in hybrid and electric cars, battery technology in consumer devices is sure to follow. All consumer electronic devices, smart phones especially, are in desperate need of superior batteries that can last several days, instead of just hours. Buyers can expect that any important forward progress in vehicular batteries will trickle down into the devices we use every day. A significant upgrade to battery technology is just what most consumers want.
To see the exact stimulus battery grants and how they break down individually, check out this PDF at EENews.net which gives specifics on which companies are receiving funds and what they will be developing. Most consumer devices use Lithium-Ion or Lithium-Polymer though a fair amount of research is being spent on Nickel-Cobalt as well.
For more information on the entire program check out The Washington Post or the United States Economic Stimulus page online.
Power is one of the areas where governments should be investing hard and financing innovative projects. Investment is very needed in that area now. Fossil fuel will not last forever, electric is the way to go.
And we must realize that Electric cars pollute more than gasolene cars.
Our current power plants will be polluting more than when compared to using gasolene, so I guess that's useless, then.
I just planted an electric tree and a money tree in the back yard. Uh?
Power is one of the areas where governments should be investing hard and financing innovative projects. Investment is very needed in that area now. Fossil fuel will not last forever, electric is the way to go.
Like I said, I agree that investing in battery tech is a good move, but with all the other spending our leaders have already done and have committed to, there is no more money to invest! They've resorted to printing it, which will only hurt us in the long run as eventually it will catch up to us in inflation.
Well, given how slowly advancement is adopted with stuff like that, I expect to continue using our current power plants until they fall down...
Power is one of the areas where governments should be investing hard and financing innovative projects. Investment is very needed in that area now. Fossil fuel will not last forever, electric is the way to go.
Like I said, I agree that investing in battery tech is a good move, but with all the other spending our leaders have already done and have committed to, there is no more money to invest! They've resorted to printing it, which will only hurt us in the long run as eventually it will catch up to us in inflation.
Yeah, our future is very scary...
1. This money was already allocated through the various Economic Stimulus Packages, it's just being distributed now.
2. Power plants do not pollute more than vehicles, they are MUCH more efficient... while Batteries are pretty toxic, at least they can be disposed of in the ground in the middle of no-where so they don't do much damage. In the short-term, power plants will create more pollutants due to higher demand, but in the long term more of those plants will be Hydro-Electric and Geo-Thermal, which do not pollute.
Just my two cents... although I'm no expert.
I have to ask ... where do you think money normally comes from?
No, but it produces a much more polluting substance. Nuclear plants don't last very long, and they're also expensive to build in comparison to traditional plants.
Yes, because expense is our biggest concern right now...
I think Geo-Thermal and Hydro-Electric are better choices than Nuclear, but if Nuclear is what it takes to decommission these coal & oil plants, I'm all for it.
Yes, in many countries, it is exactly one of the jobs of the government. You realise the military spend masses on R&D?
Got much pent up rage there? Might want to head over to the freepers forum, I see a lot of crazy like minded rants over there.
you fail.
-1
Yep, and we'll be a province of China since we're borrowing much of this money from them... LOL
Rachel Ray should start prepping "30 cent meals"... LMAO
Instead, the Chinese or some other nation figures out how to do it cheaper and we end up buying from them. So investing in a technology that requires manufacturing doesn't really do any good. It's a short-term fix.
The U.S. needs to figure out how to manufacture products in the U.S. so it can be competitive.
Instead, the Chinese or some other nation figures out how to do it cheaper and we end up buying from them. So investing in a technology that requires manufacturing doesn't really do any good. It's a short-term fix.
The U.S. needs to figure out how to manufacture products in the U.S. so it can be competitive.
Right. And that's not the exact subject of this article, how?
I think you guys would still find something bad to say about Obama even if he gets us out of recession and reduces the national debt.
I think you guys would still find something bad to say about Obama even if he gets us out of recession and reduces the national debt.
I have no problem whatsoever saying things that I agree with that he's done. Unfortunately that doesn't amount to much. He has generated a tremendous amount of debt with no means to generate growth. It's rather basic economics, and he doesn't get it.
I think you guys would still find something bad to say about Obama even if he gets us out of recession and reduces the national debt.
I have no problem whatsoever saying things that I agree with that he's done. Unfortunately that doesn't amount to much. He has generated a tremendous amount of debt with no means to generate growth. It's rather basic economics, and he doesn't get it.
And it's been, what, 6 months? Christ almighty...
I have a feeling that line will be used until 2012.
"He's only been in office 3 1/2 years! He needs more time!"
As for how to stop other countries (e.g. China) producing stuff, it's a difficult one, but if anyone can figure out a better combination than education and investment in business, let me know!
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