The National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Batteries (NATTBatt) has selected Glendale, Kentucky as its choice of locations to build a manufacturing campus. NATTBatt is a consortium of more than fifty corporations, associations, and research institutions involved in advanced lithium-ion battery cells for transportation.

The group, dedicated to making the U.S. a world leader in the manufacturing li-ion cells, selected the Kentucky site for its close access to both Interstate 65 and CSX rail. The site will be part of the business plan submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy to get part of the $2 billion in funds slated for electric vehicle battery component and manufacturing projects.

Claiming they’re “five years behind Asians” in their ability to manufacture battery cells for electric vehicles, fourteen battery companies formed an alliance in order to push for federal funding for improved research and development. Their plan is to lobby the federal government to give them handouts so they can catch up to the Asians (mainly the Chinese) in technology and manufacturing.

The new National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture is going to hit Congress up for up to $2 billion to improve lithium-ion battery production in the United States. Their claim is that this might jump start a new domestic auto industry.

Of course, none of them bother to mention the downers to this: the costs associated with building here versus importing, the question of whether they CAN catch up, and the big one: why is it the government’s job to give them our money. In this day of bailouts, I guess that begging to Congress is how business is done.

My views are pretty simple: if there is a need for American manufacture of battery technology, plenty of private funding will be available for it. If there isn’t, then these businesses need to find a new job. Of course, I believe in the power of the free market.

If successful, the facility would total about 1 million square feet to be used for large-scale “flexible manufacturing” facility for various types of li-ion cells. This facility would provide a resource for manufacturers of all stages of development to help them get into the market.

The DoE’s decision is expected sometime this summer and construction would begin as soon as the funds are available, so that could also begin this year. The Argonne National Laboratory is instrumental in the NAATTBAtt.