USABC PICKING WINNERS AWARDS $7.5 MILLION PRE-LITHIATION EV BATTERY CELL TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CONTRACT TO APPLIED MATERIALS SOUTHFIELD, Mich., May 19, 2021 – The United States Advanced Battery Consortium LLC (USABC), a subsidiary of the United States Council for Automotive Research LLC (USCAR), today announced the award of a $7.5 million technology development contract to Applied Materials, Inc. in Santa Clara, California for an advanced lithium-ion battery based on pre-lithiated silicon-graphite technology for electric vehicles (EV). The contract award, which includes a 51.2 percent cost share, funds a 24-month project that began earlier this year. The program’s goal is to develop a roll-to-roll (R2R) pre-lithiation system for high-volume manufacturing. As part of the program, Applied Materials will work with battery manufacturers to demonstrate the technology for use in EVs.