By Andrew Polino
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wbfo/local-wbfo-903902.mp3
Buffalo, NY – The Honeywell Research Laboratory in Buffalo will be helping to bring the manufacturing of batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles to the United States.
Today, many laptops, cell phones, and hybrid vehicles are powered by the lithium-ion battery. The batteries are currently being manufactured in Japan. Now, the Honeywell Research Laboratory has received a $27.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The grant will fund Honeywell's domestic manufacturing of an important component of lithium-ion batteries. At a news conference held at Honeywell's Buffalo Research Laboratory, Congressman Brian Higgins said that Honeywell's work affirms Buffalo's status as a city of innovation.
"We have the infrastructure here in Western New York to lead with technology," Higgins said.
Brian O'Leary, the director of Honeywell's Energy Storage program, says that Honeywell can help produce lithium-ion batteries that are purer and more effective than those used today.
"Purity is the critical factor in the life of a battery," O'Leary said. "So by making higher purity materials, we'll help enable longer life batteries."
O'Leary also says that Honeywell has developed a new manufacturing process that is environmentally sound and produces a lot less waste than current methods.