Cal State Los Angeles and Cerritos College have been awarded a $150,000 grant from the South Coast Air Quality Management District for their efforts in a three-year collegiate competition involving electric vehicle batteries, officials announced Tuesday.
The AQMD’s governing board awarded the grant as part of the Battery Workforce Challenge, a national program to train future electric vehicle battery engineers and technicians. The colleges were the only competitors selected from the South Coast Air Basin.
“This program is more than a competition, it’s a launch pad for future engineers and innovators,” said Wayne Nastri, South Coast AQMD’s executive officer. “This program aligns perfectly with our vision of a cleaner, more sustainable future.”
Presented by the U.S. Department of Energy and Stellantis and managed by Argonne National Laboratory, the BWC has teams design, build, test and integrate advanced EV battery pack for a Stellantis Ram ProMaster electric vehicle.
Students participating in the competition will trained to become skilled engineers advancing battery technology, officials said.
Cal State LA is one of 12 universities from North America selected for the challenge that has assembled the Charging Eagles, a team of 66 engineering students. During the first year, the team designed an 62-kWh battery pack to meet performance and safety standards. In years two and three, they’ll test and integrate the battery pack into the Ram ProMaster and compete against other schools on key performance measures.
“This generous award from South Coast AQMD is a transformative opportunity for our team, allowing us to hire additional student researchers, purchase critical components for the competition, and cover travel expenses so more students can participate,” said Isabel Builes, Cal State LA student project manager.
“With this support, we can dedicate more time to advancing our project and enhancing students’ hands-on experience in sustainable battery technology.”
South Coast AQMD’s sponsorship will fund hardware, software and travel expenses. The team has secured over $500,000 in funding from competition sponsors.