GE receives $1.36 million to study electric cars

The grant, funded through the Department of Energy, will also be used to create a fleet of smart-grid vehicles for the shipping and municipal maintenance industries.

It could not be immediately determined if the DOE grant would create jobs or help retain existing ones.

For the last couple of years, General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) has been researching the overall impact that electric vehicle charging will have on the electric grid.

In 2010, the company signed a three year agreement with Nissan Motor Co. to research new technologies for electric vehicles. Such technologies are needed as plug-in hybrid and electric cars gain in popularity, and their charging methods tax the nation’s infrastructure. GE researchers have said that charging an electric car requires one times to three times the power load of a house.

www.ge.com