The real reason for Obama’s $2.4 billion electric car grants

More than half of the money goes to battery manufacturing. US-made hybrids are currently dependent on batteries made abroad.

By Peter Grier | Staff writer/ August 5, 2009 edition

Washington

Want to know why the Obama administration’s announcement of $2.4 billion in electric vehicle grants could be very important? It’s simple: The commitment show that Washington may be getting serious about keeping batteries from becoming the new oil.

Right now, overseas manufacturers, primarily in Asia, are the world leaders in the mass production of advanced vehicle batteries. Even US-made hybrids such as the Ford Fusion have a foreign battery at their core.