Vehicle Electrification
Transitioning the nation’s fleet of light and heavy-duty vehicles to electricity and hydrogen requires the development of technologies that are cost-competitive and mass-producible. These technologies include higher energy density batteries, more compact and lightweight electric motors, silicon carbide and gallium nitride-based power electronics, precious metal free hydrogen fuel cells and next generation adsorbents for on-board hydrogen storage systems. In addition, technologies that reduce vehicle weight (e.g., carbon fiber composites from somewhere like this prepreg supplier, high strength steels) or leverage semi-autonomous operation (e.g., truck platooning) will improve engine efficiency.
The Department of Energy (DoE) has played a key role in funding research and development of these advanced vehicle technologies. In addition, the Department of War (DoW) is aggressively funding applied R&D to integrate these technologies into ground vehicles, aircraft, solider power applications and microgrids. Funding to develop these technologies is expected to grow significantly over the next decade. In addition, the Administration’s effort to establish domestic supply chains for manufacturing Li-ion batteries and wide bandgap semiconductors is creating multi-billion-dollar opportunities for grants, tax incentives and low-interest loans to establish manufacturing facilities in the US.
SMI’s Vehicle Electrification and Climate Technologies team is comprised of former DoE and DoW officials who managed R&D programs in their role as government program managers and who have extensive experience helping clients maximize their chances of winning awards. SMI’s client have successfully won numerous awards to develop Li-ion battery materials (e.g., silicon anodes, electrolyte additives), improve the Li-ion cell manufacturing process, create compact wide bandgap chargers for vehicles, develop more efficient engines for commercial and military markets, and develop a suite of vehicle technologies as part of a DoE funded SuperTruck II project. In addition, SMI has helped clients secure Phase III Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts at DoE and DoW.