Detroit needs jobs. The city's unemployment rate hovers around 28%, the worst in the nation, and the city's budget deficit is near $300 million. Both Detroit's residents and its government need new employers to recharge the local economy. Ann Marie Sastry, professor of mechanical, biomedical and materials science engineering, is named as one of seven innovators helping to bring jobs to the Detroit area. She is CEO of a company working to develop advanced lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.

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Brazilian sugar producers say sugar-based fuel is more environmentally sound than electricity or corn ethanol as an alternative for powering cars. But the odds are long for a change. "The main problem with corn-based ethanol is that it competes with agriculture, and that's a huge social problem," said Anna Stefanopoulou, director of the University of Michigan Auto Research Center.

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Researchers from U-M and Ford are working together to turn your hybrid car into a math equation. "Once we have developed a mathematical model of the power system and what Ford engineers are trying to optimize, we can tell them what the optimal efficiency is," says Jessy Grizzle, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the U-M who is working on the project with U-M PhD student Daniel Opila.

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Ford has tapped U-M to help bring cloud computing and social networking to Sync. The goal is to figure out "what's next" for in-car connectivity and the company's wildly successful automotive communications and entertainment system. "What excites me about this project is that it gives our students the opportunity to unleash their creativity using cutting-edge technologies that connect the vehicle and the cloud," said Dr. Jason Flinn, an associate professor at U-M.

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Ford Motor Co. has partnered with the Michigan Engineering's department of electrical engineering and computer science to create software for future generations of its Sync system. The joint research project, dubbed "American Journey 2.0," offers students the opportunity to develop, beta test and program open-source applications based around the concept of in-car connectivity.

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Ford and U-M are working together on a new project to accelerate the development of future hybrid vehicles. Jessy Grizzle, professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at U-M said, "I envision hybrids of the future featuring multiple modes or offering customers the ability to customize their driving experience."

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The U.S. government has made it clear that developing a domestic auto-battery industry--for advanced batteries to power next-generation electric cars--is a priority. That has states scrambling to be sure they get a piece of the action.

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Ford Motor Co. announced a new collaboration Monday with two Michigan universities aimed at improving its in-vehicle connectivity system, Sync.

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The conclusion of AEI's two-part series looks at how industry, academia, and professional groups are working together to close the "knowledge gap" in vehicle electrification.

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Ann Marie Sastry, professor in the College of Engineering; Dr. Ora Pescovitz, U-M Health System CEO; and Kim Schatzel, interim dean of UM-Dearborn's School of Management, were among those profiled as Women to Watch in Crain's Detroit Business.

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The University of Michigan aims to electrify the transportation industry, using $2.5 million in grant funds to develop new curriculum and programs.

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Michigan and Detroit's Big Three automakers will receive more than $1.3 billion of $2.4 billion in federal battery and electric vehicle grants, the White House said today.

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General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson, a University of Michigan graduate, discusses the importance of the university in GM's pursuit of new vehicle battery technologies.

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The Obama administration announced $2.4 billion in grants to companies developing car battery and hybrid technology as the president and others traveled around the country Wednesday to extol the benefits of the government's massive stimulus package.

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With the electrification of the American auto industry in mind, Michigan has for years been positioning itself as America's new battery capital.

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General Motors Corp. made it clear that there is nothing small or temporary about its ambition to dominate the emerging electric car industry when it opened its "Global Battery Systems Lab" here last month. It is the largest battery laboratory in North America, and Fritz Henderson, GM's CEO, said the Chevrolet Volt and the cars that come after it are the "lifeblood of our future." Ann Marie Sastry explains that GM is also helping to open a companion laboratory at U-M, where 50 students are signed up to learn the mysteries of making high-technology batteries.

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There is trouble in Toyota land, and Akio Toyoda, the 53-year-old grandson of the company's founder and the new president, has pledged to reverse the company's first loss in 59 years with a "back to basics" approach that puts more emphasis on consumers and less on the company's growth.

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Critics of the auto industry contend that, as painful as change might be for some veteran workers, a zest for knowledge is a prerequisite for the success of American car companies.

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Michigan Engineering professor Ann Marie Sastry, a world-class battery expert who leads U-M's energy systems engineering program, recently secured $15 million in private capital for her Ann Arbor startup firm, Sakti3. She's also pursuing another $15 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to accelerate her technologies--a grant application that GM has endorsed.

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Due to U-M's reliance on General Motors Corp. for research project sponsorships and job opportunities for graduates, the corporation's bankruptcy will affect the agendas of many U-M students and faculty. David Munson, dean of the College of Engineering, said Tuesday that he has no reason to believe GM will not follow through with any of its promised award contracts.

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General Motors took a big step toward its reinvention as the "New G.M." today when it opened what it calls the largest automotive battery laboratory in the United States, a move the struggling company believes will hasten the development of electric vehicles.

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Batteries are at the epicenter of energy storage technology. And storage is an extremely critical element of achieving vehicle electrification, renewable power, and a whole host of other devices that can help us manage our energy portfolio better.

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A time of strife forces change and rethinking pretty much everything. With that said, GM and Ford have shifted their gaze toward the University of Michigan and its engineering department to tighten their relationship for research purposes.

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GM has just formed a partnership with another startup, Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Sakti3.

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General Motors and Ford are tightening their ties with the University of Michigan even as the economic crisis has pummeled car sales.

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Ann Arbor-based Sakti3, a U-M spinoff company with Engineering professor Ann Marie Sastry as CEO, is partnering with General Motors Corp. as it looks to secure $15 million in federal money to help it develop and begin manufacturing high-energy batteries for use in electric-powered cars. Sakti3 is working to mass produce its batteries within the next three years and needs about $30 million to ramp up production.

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Sakti3, the University of Michigan spinoff set to apply for federal stimulus money to commercialize its advanced battery technology, will remain in the Atrium Office Center in south Ann Arbor as it expands. Atrium II is home to the Center for Automotive Research consultancy, and McMullen said the proximity to the center was a plus for Sakti3.

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Detroit put the "D" in Drive and the world on wheels. Now it is again driving the future of automotive technology as it plays host to The Business of Plugging In, its inaugural plug-in electric vehicle conference, Oct. 19-21 at the MotorCity Hotel and Conference Center. The three-day, issues-oriented conference will bring together a diverse mix of leaders from the automotive, utility, education and new technology industries as well as policymakers from the regulatory and legislative branches, financiers and researchers to address the opportunities and challenges in bringing PEVs to the mass market.

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General Motors and the University of Michigan have set up a new research institute for the development of automotive technology.

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While the Big Three are experiencing troubled times, General Motors and the University's College of Engineering plan to reshape the automotive industry. Yesterday, U-M and GM announced the creation of a joint Institute of Automotive Research and Education.

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General Motors and the University of Michigan will create a research institute where engineering students will study advanced combustion engines, battery technology and electric-vehicle manufacturing.

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General Motors plans to use the plug-in hybrid technology long planned for its Saturn division in another brand's vehicle, a top company executive said Wednesday.

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Michigan has vaulted to the front of the nation's budding advanced automotive battery production sector as officials announced four battery plant investments worth $1.7 billion. But analysts say huge risks remain.

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Since China's vehicle refueling infrastructure is still in its infancy - compared with the mature gasoline refueling system in the U.S. - China might be better positioned to construct new electric vehicle battery recharging stations.

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As Michigan auto engineers scramble to generate battery chemistry expertise, the Chinese auto industry has vaulted to the forefront of the international conversation about the need for governmental investment in electric vehicle technology.

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The Toyota Motor Corporation is exploring a reorganization of its North American operations that would put its sales, engineering and manufacturing operations under one executive, people with direct knowledge of the plan said Thursday.

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The future of Detroit is electric cars, the governor of Michigan declared in an opinion piece on Newsweek's Web site. Ann Marie Sastry, director of the energy systems engineering program at the University of Michigan, said the industry will have to take risks and government support will be essential.

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It looks like a UFO, starts like a turtle, is covered with 2726 solar cells and runs as long as the sun shines. PM's Detroit editor Larry Webster goes behind the wheel of the Continuum, U-M's sun-powered car. This three-wheeled car isn't built for comfort--and it's not exactly built for speed. It's built for distance. More precisely, it's built to maximize the distance a featherlight electric car can travel in a given time powered solely by the amount of sunlight that falls on photovoltaic cells plastered all over its upper half.

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As Michigan engineers accelerate the development of alternative propulsion vehicles such as the Chevrolet Volt, economic development officials have projected that U.S. market potential in the electric vehicle battery sector could hit $20 billion by 2020.

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General Motors executives were in Ann Arbor Feb. 20 for a dedication ceremony of sorts for the Advanced Battery Coalition for Drivetrains, a five-year, $5 million joint effort between the automaker and the University of Michigan.

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The Chevrolet Volt, the plug-in electric vehicle that General Motors Corp. hopes will revive its sagging fortunes, will get a jolt from the University of Michigan.

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Rep. John Dingell (D-Dearborn), the longest serving member in the House of Representatives, will speak Friday at the Lurie Engineering Center on North Campus about the Advanced Battery Coalition for Drivetrains, a research project launched by the University and struggling American automaker General Motors corp.

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Michigan needs to get batteries right. The crisis in the automotive industry is no less than frightening. But the opportunity to salvage the state's automotive expertise and leverage its university heritage to capitalize on advanced batteries represents a beacon of hope for the state's economy.

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Breaking America's dependence on foreign energy supplies and suppliers who often don't like the U.S. is a driving force behind the search for alternative fuels. That includes electric cars, which wheezing Detroit has finally realized it needs to produce. But at Detroit's International Auto Show this month, the excitement surrounding the Big Three's announcements that they're shifting from gasoline to voltage has been tempered by another realization: most of the lithium used to make the batteries for those cars is found in Bolivia, whose leftist President isn't too fond of the U.S.

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Michigan, buoyed by the auto industry's rush into electric vehicles, is hitching a big piece of its economic development hopes to the promise of lithium-ion battery production.

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Ford's hybrid chief Nancy Gioia has been tasked with transforming the iconic American automaker into the fuel-efficiency leader in every vehicle category. Hard-charging and unwavering on her mission, she takes it all in with a sunny disposition. Gioia is a Michigan Engineering alumnus.

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Reporting from Detroit -- The car world is stepping on the accelerator as it shifts away from the piston and toward the electron.

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This year, to national acclaim and flanked by Obama ally Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, GM CEO Rick Wagoner announced GM's historic commitment to develop electric vehicles. "We think it could be a big game-changer," Wagoner has said.

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At the big auto show, a shining future was taking the form of an extension cord plugging into a socket where the gas cap has always been.

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General Motors Corp. on Monday named LG Chem Ltd. of South Korea as the lithium-ion battery supplier for its Chevrolet Volt electric car, and the automaker also announced the seeds of what could become a battery development and manufacturing center in Michigan.

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General Motors Corp., in announcing long-awaited decisions Monday about batteries for its Chevrolet Volt, said it would take steps that keep Michigan at the forefront of a progressive, new auto industry. The announcement had been expected, but GM surprised the industry by saying that battery development was too important to leave outside the company, and that it would begin hiring engineers, expanding research facilities and partnering with the University of Michigan.

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Any way you frame it, General Motors Corp.'s move into the clean, 21st-century battery business is a big win for a place badly in need of one. Metro Detroit is likely to emerge from the process with the first battery pack assembly plant operated in the United States by any automaker. The region -- possibly Warren, according to a ranking official -- could end up with the nation's largest battery lab, even as an advanced battery research facility is established at the University of Michigan.

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General Motors announced today that it will open a lithium-ion battery plant in Michigan to assemble battery packs for its highly-anticipated plug-in Chevrolet Volt. The company will partner with the University of Michigan's engineering college to develop automotive battery engineers.

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General Motors Corp. said Monday it has picked LG Chem of South Korea to supply the lithium-ion battery cells for its Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle. GM also announced Monday that it has established a partnership with the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to train battery engineers and to create a new automotive advanced battery lab.

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GM said Monday that it is boosting its Volt investment to more than $1 billion by establishing a plant in Michigan, possibly in southeastern Michigan, that will produce lithium-ion battery packs. The automaker will open a 31,000-square-foot automotive battery lab and partner with the University of Michigan to educate future battery engineers.

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General Motors Corp. awarded the University of Michigan $5 million to create the Advanced Battery Coalition for Drivetrains, a partnership between U-M and GM, the automaker announced Monday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

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On Monday, Rick Wagoner, the company's chief executive, announced a new research partnership with the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, including a new battery lab and battery engineering curriculum. General Motors also plans to build a 31,000-square-foot auto battery lab in an unspecified Michigan location. The factory and university deals hold the promise of bringing high-tech green jobs and career paths to Michigan residents.

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The Continuum, the University of Michigan's solar car, on display during this year's North American International Auto Show, is unlike anything else in Cobo Hall.

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Seeing University of Michigan professor Ann Marie Sastry and General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner stand side by side in front of dozens of Detroit auto show photographers is a perfect picture of where Michigan needs to be.

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The University of Michigan and General Motors Corp. plan to establish an advanced automotive battery development and testing lab.

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General Motors plans to manufacture in-house the lithium ion batteries for the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, CEO Rick Wagoner said here today at the auto show.

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General Motors' announcement today that it will establish an advanced battery assembly plant in Michigan for the much-anticipated Chevrolet Volt signals that the state is making the right moves toward becoming a hub for advanced automotive battery manufacturing.

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In a modest office near Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor, Ann Marie Sastry oversees a small group of engineers racing to create what could become the ultimate savior of the U.S. automobile industry: a next-generation lithium-ion battery.

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The University of Michigan's College of Engineering will train 50 engineers from General Motors on alternative powertrain technology - part of a commitment to work together to accelerate the electrification of the vehicle. The partnership illustrates the automaker's desire to find engineers with skills in hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle technology.

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The last car of the University's Solar Car Team won the North American Solar Challenge this summer with a 10-hour lead over Principia College, so the next car has big expectations. But the team could opt to sit out the 2009 cycle to finish preparing a car for a race in 2010.

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A few forward-thinking university researchers have teamed up with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create a system that puts plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) to work in order to avert a looming electricity crunch.

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The convergence of the automotive industry and Ann Arbor's emerging battery technology sector could be a force in spurring the electrification of the vehicle, experts suggest.

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In a master's program in energy systems engineering, students working with General Motors Corp. to provide the best and brightest young graduate students with an opportunity to break down hurdles in the way of launching electric vehicles. Read the whole story in the Detroit Free Press.

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Toyota Motor Corp. will build its Prius gasoline-electric car in the U.S., responding to a weak dollar and record fuel prices by producing the hybrid in its biggest market. Professor Jeffrey Liker is quoted in this story.

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Teams are hoping to drive under clear skies when the North American Solar Challenge goes full throttle this weekend. The University of Michigan's Continuum car is pictured and discussed in this article from ABC News.

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The major automakers - once corporate titans that didn't need much help from unaffiliated researchers - are turning to technology developed at the nation's top universities to make advancements in battery technology. Read the whole story in the Oakland Business Review.

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The world's largest automaker likes what it sees in Ann Arbor. Toyota Motor Corp. announced April 1 that it will invest $100 million to create the Toyota Research Institute of North America in its existing facility in Ann Arbor Township.

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In a move that underscores southeast Michigan's importance and future as a global leader in automotive research, Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday that it has established a new institute near Ann Arbor that will spend $100 million on advanced research in the next four years.

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Toyota Motor Corp.'s plans to spend $100 million to establish a new research operation in the Ann Arbor area marks the latest in a wave of investments related to alternative energy that has swept over the Ann Arbor area in recent weeks.

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One of the brightest U.S. hopes for the contest is the University of Michigan Solar Car Team, a four-time winner of the North American solar challenge, which will be entering the Continuum, a stingray-shaped single-seater that can reach speeds of as fast as 70 mph.

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