August 6, 2009 (FinancialWire) — Polypore International, Inc. (NYSE: PPO), a leading global supplier of high performance microporous membranes, announced that its Celgard, LLC business unit has been selected for a grant award of $49 million from the U.S. Department of Energy  to expand production capacity in the United States.

The grant, which is contingent upon finalizing the contractual agreement with the DOE, will fund an additional expansion of Polypore’s existing lithium-ion separator manufacturing facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the construction of a new manufacturing facility that would be built at a second U.S. location.

“We look forward to playing a key role in supporting the Department of Energy’s and the country’s goal to develop a technology-leading lithium-ion battery industry in the United States, including a robust supply chain for the critical components,” said Robert B. Toth, president and chief executive officer of Polypore. “This grant will enable us to accelerate investment in production capacity and create jobs in the U.S. as we prepare to meet the increasing demand of the Electric Drive Vehicle market.”

Possessing the lithium battery separator industry’s broadest product portfolio, Polypore’s Celgard business unit is one of the largest participants in the U.S. lithium battery supply chain and a leading supplier of lithium battery markets throughout the world. Celgard(r) separators are used in lithium-ion batteries for personal electronics devices such as notebook computers, mobile phones and digital cameras, and new applications including power tools, reserve power and grid management systems and electric drive vehicles.

The grant funding is part of the DOE’s Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative (DE-FOA-000026) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009  that provides federal stimulus funding to support the creation of American jobs while promoting the development of U.S.-based advanced battery production for the electric drive vehicle  market.

FinancialWire(tm) is a fully independent, proprietary news wire service. FinancialWire(tm) is not a press release service, and receives no compensation for its news, opinions or distributions. Further disclosure is at the FinancialWire(tm) web site (http://www.financialwire.net/disclosures.php). Contact FinancialWire(tm) directly via inquiries@financialwire.net.

Free annual reports for companies mentioned in the news are available through the Free Annual Reports Service (http://investrend.ar.wilink.com/?level=279).

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.