Senator: Michigan To Get Battery Research Facilities

HOLLAND, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - Michigan is expected to get two new advanced battery research facilities as part of a five-year, up to $120 million partnership involving the U.S. Department of Energy.

U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow joined other officials including Energy Secretary Steven Chu Friday to announce the project. She said in a release that one facility is planned for the southwestern Michigan city of Holland and the other is planned for Ann Arbor.

The University of Michigan says it's expected to get $7 million as part of the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, which is led by the Argonne National Laboratory. The Holland facility will be at Michigan State University's Bio-economy Institute.

Stabenow said the investment will hopefully spur off new companies and new creations.

"We're in the beginnings, you know. The exciting part is it's really the advanced industrial revolution here ... advanced manufacturing and innovation, and we're really at the beginning of it," she said,

Stabenow said the centers are "further cementing Michigan's global leadership role in the advanced battery industry."

She expects the research labs to be up and running in the next few months.

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