Archive for the ‘Department of Energy’ Category

Since June of this year, the Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicle program has awarded low-interest loans to encourage the development of next-gen cars. Ford, Nissan, Tesla, and Fisker got in on the action, but one outside-the-box company has been left on the sidelines: Aptera. The company's 2e model has been legally classified as a motorcycle, so Aptera hasn't been eligible for the program, but that'll change with Congress' redefining of the term "automobile". (Hint: if it's enclosed, seats two, and gets 75 mpg, it's in the ballpark.) John Voelcker has the full story at GreenCarReports.com.

A couple of weeks ago, Fisker gleefully announced fuel efficiency stats for its upcoming extended-range Karma sedan (67 mpg, though the math is a little fuzzy).  Now the upstart automaker has another reason to celebrate: the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded Fisker a $529 million low-interest loan, which will help the company develop the $87,000 Karma and the upcoming Nina, a lower-priced sedan that will ring in around $45,000.

Roughly $169 million of Fisker's loan will be applied toward development of the Fisker Karma. Those funds will go toward the design of tools, equipment for manufacturing, and coordination of materials from U.S....

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $2.4 billion in grants to automakers, start-ups, universities, and other outfits to facilitate the production of battery-powered electric vehicles. (That came on top of $10 billion worth of low-interest loans doled out to Ford, Nissan, and Tesla back in June.) Now, the DOE has announced a new, significantly less-well-funded competition centered around the development of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

In calling its competition the H-Prize, the DOE borrows a page from the much-ballyhooed X-Prize program, which has, among other things, fueled innovators like Tesla CEO and sometime media...