Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger today lauded East Penn Manufacturing Co. in Lyon Station, Berks County, for receiving a $32.5 million grant under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The grant, announced this week by the U.S. Department of Energy, is part of a nationwide effort to accelerate manufacture and deployment of electric vehicles, batteries, and components.

East Penn Manufacturing, a third-generation family business with more than 63 years in battery manufacturing, will use the grant to increase production capacity for its lead-acid batteries and the UltraBattery, a lead-acid battery combined with a carbon supercapacitor, for micro and mild hybrid applications.

"This grant will allow East Penn Manufacturing to scale up production to more than 2.8 million batteries annually by 2013," Hanger said. "Such funding creates new high paying, sustainable jobs while at the same time it strengthens the diversification of this critical manufacturing sector for batteries and electric drive components."

East Penn Manufacturing received one of 48 grants awarded nationwide for new advanced battery and electric drive projects. The $2.4 billion in projects marks the single largest investment in advanced battery technology for hybrid and electric-drive vehicles ever made.

East Penn is the largest manufacturing employer in Berks County. It has a 490-acre plant site, the largest in its industry, with over two million square feet under roof. The grant will enable East Penn to:

* Support the future of the hybrid electric vehicle market by producing 4.2 million advanced batteries;
* Play a significant role in producing a viable, cost effective, and highly recyclable battery for the HEV market; and
* Save approximately 200 million gallons of petroleum over the next four years, and 1.2 billion gallons of petroleum by 2020.