The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is awarding up to $30 million over the next three years to the Big Three automakers so that they can develop plug-in hybrid vehicles.

DOE hopes that the $30 million in funding will help U.S. automakers Ford, General Motors and Chrysler develop plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) that can travel for up to 40 miles uncharged. DOE wants PHEVs to become cost-competitive by 2014 and enter the commercial market in 2016.

Automaker Ford, along with team members Southern California Edison, Electric Power Research Institute and Johnson Controls-Saft, will be focusing on the development of battery systems and prototype PHEVs. They will also determine pathways to ...