This Funding Opportunity Announcement will support the Government-wide approach to the climate crisis by driving the innovation that can lead to the deployment of clean energy technologies, which are critical for climate protection. Specifically, the Research and Development activities funded under this Announcement will ensure relevance and responsiveness to the needs of electric vehicle manufacturers via working with, and through a consortium, that brings together a significant fraction of the major manufacturers of electric drive vehicles in the United States, to manage pre-competitive, vehicle-related Research and Development in advanced battery technology, with substantial involvement by the Department of Energy.

The Vehicle Technologies Office seeks a consortium to manage pre-competitive, vehicle-related (light duty, and possibly medium, and heavy duty) R&D in advanced battery technology (which includes domestic supply chain development, cost positive recycling, and the development of high energy cells using earth abundant elements, specifically including BLI cells with substantial involvement by DOE.

The primary purpose of this consortium will be to fund and manage research to design, develop, build, and test EV battery technology with enhanced performance (low temperature, fast charge, more abuse tolerant), EV batteries using predominantly or solely earth abundant materials, beyond Li ion cell technology, development and use of earth abundant and domestically available energy storage materials, and more cost positive recycling processes, all of which have the potential of meeting or exceeding DOE’s light, medium, and heavy duty EV battery cost and performance targets. Where appropriate, the consortium will iterate and/or develop new battery targets.

The R&D projects solicited through the consortium should focus on high-power batteries, high-energy batteries, and ultracapacitors for automobile, medium and/or heavy-duty vehicular applications. Each project selected by the consortium as subawardees will be managed by technical experts from the consortium’s key stakeholders. It is anticipated that these technical experts will form work groups to focus on specific issues and to conduct periodic reviews of selected topics and projects. In addition, the prime applicant’s project objectives must define storage device requirements for the vehicle applications, as well as standard performance and abuse tests and procedures for product performance and safety evaluations.