DOE to Invest $43 Million in Energy Storage Research Projects

The DOE has recently announced that, through its Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), it will invest $43 million into 19 new research projects looking at the development of more efficient energy storage technology. An announcement that proves they are still looking to achieve President Obama’s aim of doubling down on EV research.

Any improvements made will directly benefit vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt. Chevrolet have already boosted its battery’s capacity by o.5 kilowatts an hour, increasing the cars range to 38 miles, from 35. DOE funded research projects will seek to improve this figure even more.

A spokesman from the DOE stated that “these innovations will help reduce costs and improve the performance of next generation storage technologies, which could be applied in both plug-in electric and hybrid-electric vehicles.”

Some people are critical of the fact the government spends so much of the taxpayers money on renewable energy projects, believing that funding should be left to the supply and demand of the private sector. However the DOE has said that research projects such as these are not driven by the private sector because they are too risky. Whilst the industry is still young, and research and development is partly hit and miss, the ARPA-E is vital for providing the investment, in the hope that some of its projects will bear significant fruits.

Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, said the “latest round of ARPA-E projects seek to address the remaining challenges in energy storage technologies, which could revolutionize the way Americans store and use energy in electric vehicles, the grid and beyond, while also potentially improving the access to energy for the U.S. military at forward operating bases in remote areas.”

Obama continues to show his belief that clean energy innovation will only be achieved with government help.

By. James Burgess of Oilprice.com