Twenty-four hours after Ford's PR man Mark Fields declared battery research a "national priority," the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced it's giving $30m in research money to General Motors, Ford and General Electric. (Don't despair Mopar fans, as GE is already working with Chrysler on a plug-in hybrid.) Each company will work on a different aspect of battery technology. GM will focus on lithium ion packs and their integration with vehicles and homes. Ford will attempt to tackle the manufacturing process. GE will concern themselves with "dual-battery" technology, whatever that may mean. While the DOE's grant isn't exactly the $500m Fields declared necessary to secure our technological borders, it's still a hefty chunk of change. Expect the initiative to bear PHEV fruit in 2016, some six years after the plug-in electric gas hybrid Chevrolet Volt's supposed debut.
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Can Toyota, Honda and Panasonic get a piece of that action?
The Feds DID offer a subsidy for hybrids, in the form of a tax credit to consumers (in other words, the Feds helped auto manufacturers out on price). Toyota took maximum advantage of this and it helped sell the first wave(s) of Priuses. Ford and Honda got a chunk. Ford might sell enough Escape hybrids to use up their allocation.
However, that tax credit expires before GM gets a decent quantity of hybrids into the field, just a piddling amount of the near-useless BAS system vehicles and an inconsequential quantity of overpriced two-mode super-piglets. It certainly makes sens that, having completely pissed away their opportunity, they’ll come begging for another.
Remember, when GM declined to get in the race years ago, they were also declining an opportunity to get the feds to help them roll out the new tech profitably. They knew it, too.
I’d like to see another round of purchaser credits. To reduce the cost of my ’09 Prius. I’m not waiting until 2010 2011 whenver for a Volt.
But the technology is now mainstream and the rationale for helping launch it is a thing of the past.
Once again, can someone explain how this is NOT theft? It’s one thing to do a university grant for something that the market won’t likely generate cash for, but that may have good social return. However, how do you justify this? Doesn’t this directly punish the independent companies working on these things right now in search of profit? If I had a small company working on this stuff, I would be royally pissed. Hell, I am royally pissed already, and all it cost me was my measly share of the $30 million.
Wait, that’s not true. It cost me my share of the $30 million, PLUS the damage to the market. What great scientific breakthrough will we not enjoy because the future inventor will now be waiting for a government grant because he can’t get private funds because no one wants to compete with Uncle Sugar and his corporate clique?
Bastards!
If we’re going to spew out corporate welfare, I think the $30 million would be much more productively employed by Toyota!
Great more money pissed down a rat hole. Didn’t they already prove to be totaly irrisponsible when they got BIllions of our tax dollars a decade ago to make hybrids. Actually it doesn’t bother me that Ford gets it aleast they have had the Escape hybrid on the market for some time, but GM, stupid politicians giving away our money for executive bonuses.
Landcrusher is right, free market my ass.
I’m still waiting for the New Generation vehicles promised by the big Clinton era Private-Public partnership.