The Big Three Awards $2.68M Contract to Develop Hybrid Battery System

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SOUTHFIELD — The United States Advanced Battery Consortium, operated by Chrysler Group, Ford Motor Co., and General Motors Co., awarded a $2.68 million advanced battery technology contract to Maxwell Technologies of San Diego, Calif., for the development of high-performance, hybrid energy storage system for automotive stop-start applications.

Start-stop systems are designed to automatically shut down and restart a hybrid vehicle’s internal combustion engine to reduce energy consumed while a car is idling. 

“These programs are essential to advance the technology needed to meet both near- and long-term goals that will enable increasingly efficient and affordable vehicle electrification,” says Steve Zimmer, executive director of the United States Council for Automotive Research.

The 19-month program will focus on the technological and economic feasibility of adopting a 12-volt hybrid energy storage system consisting of lithium-ion batteries and Maxwell ultracapacitors to an automotive stop-start application. The program goals will include development of an improved capacitor.