Exploratory Technology Research Program for Electrochemical Energy Storage - Annual Report for 1998

The US Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Advanced Automotive Technologies conducts research and development on advanced rechargeable batteries for application in electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid systems. Efforts are focused on advanced batteries that offer the potential for high performance and low life-cycle costs, both of which are necessary to permit significant penetration into commercial markets. DOE battery R and D supports two major programs: the US Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC), which develops advanced batteries for EVS, and the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV), which seeks to develop passenger vehicles with a fuel economy equivalent to 80 mpg of gasoline. This report describes the activities of the Exploratory Technology Research (ETR) Program, managed by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The role of the ETR Program is to perform supporting research on the advanced battery systems under development by the USABC and PNGV Programs, and to evaluate new systems with potentially superior performance, durability and/or cost characteristics. The specific goal of the ETR Program is to identify the most promising electrochemical technologies and transfer them to the USABC, the battery industry and/or other Government agencies for further development and scale-up. This report summarizes the research, financial and management activities relevant to the ETR Program in CY 1998. This is a continuing program, and reports for prior years have been published; they are listed at the end of this Program Summary