Key Contract for Advanced Battery May Be Unveiled

A little-known battery technology developed by a controversial suburban Detroit firm is expected today to win the first contract awarded by the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium, a government-industry group working on batteries for electric cars.

The $18.5-million development contract to be given Energy Conversion Devices Inc. appears to place the nickel-metal hydride battery at the forefront in the race to become the battery technology of choice for electric cars in the mid-1990s.

The battery consortium said the technology it has chosen will double or triple the driving range achieved by current battery technology. The goal under the first contract is a range of 120 to 150 miles between charges.

Officials at the consortium didn’t identify Energy Conversion Devices or the technology but scheduled a news conference for today at ECD’s address in Troy, Mich. Sources identified ECD, developer of the nickel-metal hybrid battery, as the choice.

The consortium was established last year by General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, Calif., and the Energy Department.

The rush to develop a better battery--the chief obstacle to practical, affordable electric cars--was triggered by California’s requirement that all auto producers selling cars in the state begin offering some “zero-pollution” cars by 1998.