$2 Billion in Grants for Electric Car Batteries

"Seeking to put the nation back in the lead on an important technology, the Obama administration awarded more than $2 billion in grants on Wednesday for manufacturing advanced batteries and other components for electric cars.

The president and four members of his cabinet fanned out across the nation’s industrial heartland, hit hard by the recession, to announce the grants, meant to help companies bolster large-scale manufacturing lines for modern batteries of the sort now mostly made in Asia.

President Obama traveled to Elkhart, Ind., for example, to give a $39 million grant to Navistar International, a truck manufacturer. And he sent the vice president, the secretaries of energy and commerce, the deputy secretary of transportation and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency to other cities to make similar announcements.

In most cases, the recipients were required to match the federal money dollar for dollar."

Matthew L. Wald reports for the New York Times August 5, 2009.