Eaton Corp. is developing a cost-effective power control system to reduce the size of lithium ion batteries without loss of battery life or vehicle performance.  The goal is to reduce the size of the battery in an electric vehicle by 50%.  The $2.8 million project will be led by Eaton's Innovation Center team in Southfield. 

This technology may be important for other areas where hybrid power management requires extended battery life: infrastructure, data centers, manufacturing.  "Eaton and ARPA-E believe this technology is a true game changer in the area of hybrid power management," said Chris Roche, Vice President, Eaton Innovation Center.  Since this is being funded by ARAP-E it must be more "futuristic" than it sounds.