Argonne gets $8.8 million for battery research

Argonne National Laboratory Wednesday was awarded $8.8 million to build or remodel three battery research-and-development facilities on its DuPage County campus.

That work, along with the purchase of some new equipment, will ultimately expedite the commercialization of better, longer-life lithium-ion batteries for hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in vehicles and other electric vehicles.

Some batteries already have been introduced in some consumer electronic devices, which will expand over the next five to 10 years. Some will be introduced into battery-operated power tools and light-duty electric vehicles, like scooters, said Gary Henriksen, manager of the Battery Department at Argonne.

"The ultimate goal is to get them into hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in vehicles and electric vehicles to help reduce our dependence on foreign oil," said Henriksen. "Also, there is a longer term goal to get battery energy storage coupled with renewable energy sources, like wind and solar. This could expand the use of these renewable energy sources in the United States to further reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce green house gases."

The Argonne award was part of a total of $104.7 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act announced Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Energy. The stimulus money is being used to also fund projects at labs in Tennessee, California, West Virginia, Idaho, New Mexico and Colorado with projects focusing on the reduction of production costs of carbon fiber manufacturing, the reduction in vehicle weight, and net-zero energy building technologies.

As soon as the funding arrives, work on all three facilities will begin. The first could be completed in six to nine months. The second facility requires major modifications to an existing building and could take more than a year. The third could take a year because a specialized box that uses attached gloves needs to be custom designed and fabricated, Henriksen said.

Facilities one and three will be located in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, which is the home of Argonne's Battery Department. The other will be located in the Energy Systems Division, he said.