President Obama announced the winners today of $2.4 billion in stimulus grants aimed at spurring the development of electric vehicles and the advanced batteries they need - with Detroit's Big Three securing more than $400 million for plug-in projects.
The cash was divvied up among 48 projects in 25 states, with General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC together grabbing some of the biggest grants. Still, the Big Three's tally was less than the combined haul of battery makers Johnson Controls Inc. and A123 Systems Inc., who together took home nearly $550 million.
"If we want to reduce our dependence on oil, put Americans back to work and reassert our manufacturing sector as one of the greatest in the world, we must produce the advanced, efficient vehicles of the future," Obama said at an event in Elkhart, Indiana, the hard-hit town he visited six months ago to drum up support for the $787 billion economic stimulus package.
The announcement comes as the administration continues its push to convince the public that the stimulus package has been a success, despite poor employment figures and other economic data showing a less than robust economic revival. As part of the grant rollout, Vice President Joe Biden was scheduled to speak in Michigan and Energy Secretary Steven Chu in Charlotte, N.C., later today.
The $2.4 billion is divided into three separate programs aimed at enticing U.S. manufacturers to produce more plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and the components and infrastructure that will support them. The first $1.5 billion is to help companies produce highly efficient batteries for plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars and trucks; $500 million is for the production of other necessary components, such as electric motors; and the final $400 million is for demonstration projects that evaluate electric infrastructure concepts.
Unlike the separate $25 billion Energy Department loan program aimed at helping retool U.S. manufacturing plants to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles, the stimulus grants do not need to be repaid. The winners do, however, have to match the federal cash with their own investments, mostly on a one-to-one basis.
GM received the largest haul of the major carmakers, receiving three separate grants totaling $241.4 million, most of which was earmarked for the high-volume production of battery packs for the company's plug-in Chevy Volt and for the deployment of a 600 strong demonstration fleet.
Ford received two separate grants, totaling $92.7 million, a third of which will go toward a commercialization project with 15 electric utility companies. Chrysler received one grant for $70 million to develop and deploy 220 advanced plug-in pickups and minivans.
The Big Three were the only major automakers to receive grants under the program, and for GM and Chrysler, it was a rare victory. The two iconic carmakers were forced to restructure in bankruptcy court earlier this year and have emerged with the federal government holding significant ownership stakes in each.
In June, when DOE announced the first batch of winners for the $25 billion loan program, neither GM nor Chrysler was among the recipients, largely because neither met the "financial viability" requirement that was an eligibility requirement for the retooling program.
Ford, however, has enjoyed a bounty of good news lately compared to its Detroit rivals. The company on Monday became the first major automaker to post a sales gain for 2009, and in June, it received the largest portion of the first $8 billion doled out in DOE loans.
The Battery Makers
While GM, Ford and Chrysler saw large slices of the funding pie, they were not the biggest winners: Johnson Controls received $299.2 million; A123 Systems secured $249.1 million; and Dow Chemical Co., through a partnership with Townsend Kokam LLC, garnered $161 million.
Dow Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris was quick to issue a statement applauding the program, saying that the grant money would help ensure that the United States stays competitive in developing the next generation of batteries.
"This is the type of comprehensive, collaborative approach that is needed to give the U.S. a sustained leadership position in this leading-edge industry," Liveris said.
The 48 projects were spread out across the country, with Michigan receiving the highest number of grants, 11, followed by Indiana with seven. While a number of the individual grants were split among several states, winners based at least partly in Michigan received a total of $1.3 billion.
Michigan Senator Carl Levin, a Democrat, was one of several lawmakers who hailed the news as a sign that the battered U.S. auto industry is primed for a recovery.
"The grants announced today will kick-start a promising automotive future for Michigan," Levin said. "Our manufacturers can now scramble back on an equal footing with other nations who have provided major support to their battery industries."
Click here for a list of the grant winners.
Click here for a map of the grant winners.
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