14 DAY TRIAL // This past January 22, United States Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced that the country was to invest $50 million (€36.88 million) in research projects intended to bring forth better and more appealing high-tech, fuel efficient American cars.
As detailed on the official website for the Department of Energy in the Unites States, the Secretary went public with the news about this new funding while taking part in the Washington Auto Show.
The money will do more than just help the American auto industry continue to develop. Thus, the $50 million are expected to also help improve on the ecological footprint of the country's transportation sector.
“At the Washington Auto Show today U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced nearly $50 million to accelerate research and development of new vehicle technologies that give drivers and businesses more transportation options and protect the environment in communities nationwide,” the Department of Energy writes in its press release on the matter at hand.
Apart from mentioning the fact that the funding will serve to support technologies that are very likely to translate into a drop in fuel costs and/or more efficient and durable vehicles, the Department does not detail exactly which research projects are to benefit from this initiative.
However, it would appear that at least some of the money would go to the Energy Department's EV Everywhere Grand Challenge, which was officially launched back in March 2012.
Whatever funds are offered to this initiative will be spent on making plug-in electric vehicles more appealing financially-wise. Specifically, the goal is to lower the costs associated with buying one and then maintaining it.
Commenting on how this new funding will impact the country's auto industry, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said that, “Today, the American auto industry is on the rise, experiencing the best period of growth in more than a decade.”
“The new research and development funding announced today will help support our domestic automakers’ continued growth and make sure that the next generation of advanced technology vehicles are built right here in America,” he went on to argue.