Opportunity Title:
Electric Vehicles for American Low-Carbon Living (EVs4ALL)
Opportunity Number:
DE-FOA-0002760
Description:
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global warming of 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius will be exceeded during the twenty-first century unless deep reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions occur in the coming decades. The United States (U.S.) alone is responsible for generating approximately 15% of global CO2 emissions despite being inhabited by only 5% of the Earth’s population. At present, the transportation sector is responsible for 28% of total domestic emissions, with road-based passenger vehicles accounting for 57% of that segment. Domestically, passenger vehicles [i.e., cars, sport utility vehicles (SUVs), minivans and pick-up trucks] collectively emit more than one billion tons of CO2 per year.
As the U.S. works to decarbonize the transportation sector and produce an increasing amount of “clean” (zero emission) electricity, electric vehicles (EVs) become logical alternatives to internal combustion engines (ICEs). However, to accelerate and/or broaden EV adoption, consumer-centric considerations need to be more thoroughly addressed, including cost, convenience, reliability, and safety. While early adopters contributed to record EV sales in 2021, comprising 3.6% of total cars sold in the U.S., 42% of these EVs were sold in California, followed by other states with comparable climates and/or wealth. Furthermore, EV ownership is dominated by a minority demographic of the U.S. population based on age, gender, annual salary, level of education, and other factors. Although it is expected that EVs will continue to gain market share domestically, significantly more effort is required to address and remove key technology barriers to EV adoption among a greater percentage of the population. In response to these challenges, ARPA-E's Electric Vehicles for American Low-carbon Living (EVs4ALL) program will focus on advancing next-generation battery technologies that have the potential to significantly improve affordability, convenience, reliability, and safety of EVs compared to those available today, to directly address the following key market needs:
• Approximately 37% of Americans live in residences without garages or carports and therefore do not have access to the convenience of charging at home. Thus, EV batteries capable of safe, rapid charging are necessary to appeal to this market.
• Many Americans live in northern states where EV battery performance can be experienced as unsatisfactory at low temperatures, due to reductions in capacity and power. Consequently, EV batteries that are more resilient at low temperatures are critical to motivate greater adoption in colder climates.
• The median U.S. household income is approximately $70,000 and although a subset of used EV models may be available to purchase for less than $20,000, their maximum range (miles) may be perceived as unacceptably low. Since two thirds of Americans purchase used vehicles rather than new, more durable (“longer-lasting”) EV batteries are required to stimulate and assure the used EV market.
Eligibility:
Unrestricted.
Total Amount Available:
$45,000,000
Maximum Award:
$6,000,000
Minimum Award:
$1,000,000
Application Deadline:
June 16, 2022
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