By Stephen Nakrosis

PPG Industries, Inc. on Wednesday said it received $2.2 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy for research into lithium-ion battery electrodes.

The company said the three-year project will research "the use of two versatile, high-output processes in the production of lithium-ion battery electrodes," and added it will be conducted in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

The project, titled "High-Energy and High-Power NMP-Free Designer Electrodes with Ultra-Thick Architectures Processed by Multilayer Slot-Die Coating and Electrophoretic Deposition," will try to achieve "step-change improvements in production efficiency of Li-ion batteries used in automotive and commercial vehicle applications," PPG said.

"This funding recognizes PPG's contributions to innovative battery manufacturing processes and our potential to commercialize disruptive technologies that can help accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles," said Peter Votruba-Drzal, PPG director, global research and product development, automotive, industrial and mobility.

The cost of the project is being shared by PPG and the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on a 50/50 basis, the company said. 



  --Write to Stephen Nakrosis at stephen.nakrosis@wsj.com