DOE awards two grants to speed electric vehicles

FREDERICK/FORT COLLINS – The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded more than $50 million to local efforts to accelerate manufacture and deployment of electric vehicles, batteries and components in the United States.

The grants are among 48 advanced battery and electric drive projects to be funded by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.

First, UQM Technologies Inc. (NYSE Amex: UQM) of Frederick has been selected to receive a $45.1 million award. The DOE award provides for a 50 percent cost share by UQM, raising the total value of the project to $90.2 million, according to a UQM press release.

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UQM is a developer of power-dense, high-efficiency electric motors, generators and power electronic controllers for the auto, aerospace, military and industrial markets.

In afternoon trading, shares of UQM were down by 6.25 percent to $4.80.

Colorado State University also has been selected to receive a $5 million grant to educate the public about hybrid and electric vehicles and to train hybrid/electric technicians and emergency responders.

The CSU grant is expected to create 85 jobs to help meet a national shortage of trained workers and help rebuild the U.S. auto industry.

Working with CSU on the grant program are CSU Ventures, Arapahoe Community College, Douglas County School District, Georgia Institute of Technology, KShare, Ricardo and Motion Reality Inc.

The DOE proposal was co-led by CSU Ventures’ System Solutions Group, Cenergy — the business arm of the Clean Energy Supercluster at Colorado State — and the College of Engineering. CSU Ventures is a subsidiary corporation of the Colorado State University Research Foundation.