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USDOE $10-$30M Project: Earlier Feb 13 Date for Round 1 Applications
Jan 24, 2008 (From the CalCars-News archive)
CalCars-News
This posting originally appeared at CalCars-News, our newsletter of breaking CalCars and plug-in hybrid news. View the original posting here.
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The Department of Energy's welcome solicitation for deployment of small fleets of PHEVs has stimulated much discussion of how much money it would really take to motivate a large carmaker (one that already produces 10,000 or more vehicles in the US) to accelerate its PHEV timetable. It has stimulated explorations of ways the federal funds might be matched with state and private financing sources to put together a much more substantial "carrot" in the range of $100M.

Meanwhile, there's been some confusion about whether the Department of Energy has announced one or two programs. There's only one, -- but it's been announced twice, the second time with two rounds of applications. On Jan 7, 2008, we posted to CalCars-News, "US Energy Dept Offers $10-$30+ Million for PHEV Demo Programs." We pointed to the December 19 explanatory document saying, "Application Due Date: 4/30/2008."

Now here's the modified timetable from January 17, taken from the document you can get to starting at http://www07.grants.gov/­search/­search.do?oppId=16298&mode=VIEW

"Applications must be received by February 13, 2008, no later than 8:00 PM Eastern Time to be considered for award under Round 1 of this announcement. You are encouraged to transmit your application well before the deadline. APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THE DEADLINE WILL NOT BE REVIEWED OR CONSIDERED FOR AWARD under Round 1 of this announcement. All applications received on or before February 13, 2008 will be considered for award under Round 1 only. To be considered for award under Round 2 of the announcement, Round 2 applications must be received by April 30, 2008, no later than 8:00 PM Eastern Time."


PROJECT SUMMARY
You can read Green Car Congress's report and see comments at http://www07.grants.gov/­search/­search.do?oppId=16298&mode=VIEW

This is from the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy EERE Network News, which you can see at www.eere.energy.gov/news/enn.cfm and subscribe to at http://www.eere.energy.gov/­news/­subscribe.cfm Note that this newsletter description softens the requirement for involving an existing carmaker: "must either involve a high-volume vehicle manufacturer or a company with the capability of producing vehicles in high volumes."

DOE Offers $30 Million for Developing Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles

DOE announced on January 17th that it is offering $30 million over the next three years for companies to design and build plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) and then test them in fleets located in geographically diverse areas. The PHEVs must be able to travel at least 10 miles using only their electric drives, although DOE would prefer vehicles that come closer to achieving the goal of a 40-mile electric range. The vehicles must be comparable to current production vehicles in terms of emissions, safety, comfort, and performance, and the projects must either involve a high-volume vehicle manufacturer or a company with the capability of producing vehicles in high volumes.

The selected projects are intended to address many of the critical barriers to achieving DOE's goal of making PHEVs cost-competitive by 2014 and ready for commercialization by 2016. PHEVs with a 40-mile electric range would satisfy about 70% of all the average daily travel in the United States. DOE will fund up to half the cost of the selected projects, providing $7 million in fiscal year 2008 and an additional $23 million in fiscal years 2009 and 2010, subject to congressional appropriations. The first round of applications is due on February 13, and a second round will be due on April 30. See the FOA.

DOE has also signed a Memorandum of Intent with the State of Michigan and the Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA) to participate in a cooperative, pre-competitive research and development (R&D) alliance called the United States Automotive Partnership for Advancing Research and Technologies, or USAutoPARTs. OESA includes the suppliers of components, modules, systems, materials, and equipment used by the original equipment automotive industry. The new alliance will initially consist of three research consortia that will focus on lightweight materials; electrical and electronic thermal management; and engine combustion and emission after-treatment. Suppliers and others may choose to participate in one or more of the research consortia. USAutoPARTs will be located in Shelby Township, Michigan, in a 56,000-square-foot vehicle R&D center that was formerly operated by Delphi Corporation. See the DOE press release, the Vehicle Technologies Program Web site, and the Memorandum of Intent for USAutoPARTS [URLs at online version of this announcement].


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