Date: Feb 17, 2016 Source: 2013 SBIR National Conference (
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The United States Advanced Battery Consortium LLC (USABC), a collaborative organization of FCA US LLC, Ford Motor Company and General Motors, today announced the award of a $1 million contract to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Massachusetts, for the scale-up and development of its lithium-ion battery recycling process to produce plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) battery cells made with recovered cathode material.
The competitively bid contract award is 50 percent cost share-funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
The 24-month program will enable WPI to scale up and demonstrate its novel and efficient recycling process, which uses no or minimal sorting, to generate cathode materials for PHEV and other types of electric vehicle applications. The recycled material will be demonstrated using a PHEV cell design and will enable a lower cell cost structure than new materials of the same chemistry, thereby offering a value-driven path towards improved sustainability.
USABC is a subsidiary of the United States Council for Automotive Research LLC (USCAR). Enabled by a cooperative agreement with the U.S. DOE, USABC's mission is to develop electrochemical energy storage technologies that support commercialization of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric and fuel cell vehicles. In support of its mission, USABC has developed mid- and long-term goals to guide its projects and measure its progress. For more information, visit http://www.uscar.org/usabc.
"We are pleased to announce the award of this contract to Worcester Polytechnic Institute as part of USABC's broad battery technology research and development programs," said Steve Zimmer, executive director of USCAR. "These programs are critical to advancing the technology needed to meet both near- and long-term goals that will enable broader scale vehicle electrification."
About DOE
The U.S. Department of Energy's overarching mission is to advance the national, economic and energy security of the United States. DOE's Vehicle Technologies Office works with industry, academia and national laboratories to develop advanced transportation technologies that reduce the nation's use of imported oil and increase its energy security. Electrochemical energy storage has been identified as a critical enabling technology for advanced, fuel-efficient, light and heavy-duty vehicles.
About USCAR
Founded in 1992, USCAR is the collaborative automotive technology company for FCA US LLC, Ford Motor Company and General Motors. The goal of USCAR is to further strengthen the technology base of the domestic auto industry through cooperative research and development. For more information, visit www.uscar.org.
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