MUNICH, Germany — Battery maker Johnson Controls-Saft has received a contract from the United States Batttery Consortium (UABC) to develop a lithium-ion battery for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Within two years, the American-French joint venture will have to prove the commercial feasibility of this technology for mass-market hybrid vehicles.

The contract is valued at $8.2 million which includes funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. The system to be developed embraces high energy capacity cells as well as battery management electronics and packaging for safe integration into the vehicle. The battery will give the vehicles a range of 15 to 60 kilometers.

Members of the UABC are Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Company and General Motors. The consortium has awarded a similar contract to Johnson Controls-Saft in 2006 focused on lithium ion battery systems for hybrid electric vehicles, the battery joint venture informed.