The news is that production capacity for lithium ion batteries is coming on-line. And these plants are partially funded by recent Federal grants. Of course these are batteries for electric vehicles and hybrids. What's the problem ?
Well, there's an electric vehicle benchmark and it's the Tesla Roadster. The advantage of the Tesla Roadster is not that it is small or that it only has two seats but the advantage is a vehicle construction type that is both strong and lightweight. The Tesla Roadster has a frame of extruded aluminum in tall cross-sections and then has a fiberglass bodywork over the frame. The car is then strong enough to carry the batteries but the total weight of the vehicle including batteries is very reasonable. The benchmark is that the Tesla Roadster has a range of 245 miles while having a vehicle weight that is only 7.12% more than a traditional vehicle. (In this case the Tesla Roadster weight is compared to an automatic transmission Mazda MX5 which is a similar size vehicle but of unibody construction and with an internal combustion engine.)
So the problem is that there is not any electric vehicles on the horizon that meet the benchmark. This is the obvious failure of the electric vehicle. Of course for the Tesla Roadster to set the benchmark that car is then very expensive. Well, the batteries are expensive and the vehicle construction method is expensive.
But the failure of the electric vehicle ? Well not exactly because there is a fuel cell vehicle that meets the benchmark. It's the Honda Clarity which is more like in consumer testing rather than in consumer sales but in a few consumer hands. Now the Honda Clarity has a range of 240 miles and a weight that is 8.32% more than a traditional vehicle. (Here the weight of the Honda Clarity is compared to a 4- cylinder Toyota Camry which has similar body and wheelbase dimensions.)
Of course a fuel cell vehicle fuels with hydrogen, produces electricity from a chemical reaction and then drives an electric motor. And the hydrogen fueling stations are in locations that have a few fuel cell buses running. For instance Southern California has about a dozen hydrogen stations, Northern California has a few hydrogen stations, Chicago has a few hydrogen stations, NYC has one or two hydrogen stations, and Orlando has a few hydrogen stations.
So the final point here is that the Federal government has a battery program but no hydrogen program.