Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG have asked the U.S. government for $500 million over five years to subsidize research into advanced batteries for cars and trucks.

The automakers made the request last month after meeting with President George W. Bush in the White House in November, said Stephen Zimmer, an advanced engineering director at DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler unit.

U.S.-based auto companies are in a race with rivals including Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. to develop a lithium-ion battery for use in hybrids and other vehicles. They need a product that won't overheat and is economical, durable, and rechargeable from a variety of sources, including home outlets.

``The progress being made is tremendous, but the batteries are not prime-time ready now,'' Zimmer said.

Since 1991, the U.S. government has subsidized battery research at the rate of about $25 million a year. Bush administration officials, during their Nov. 14 meeting with the automakers, asked whether it was adequate, Zimmer said.

``They're asked whether we're doing enough to really have a competitive battery industry in this country,'' he said. The ``answer was 'probably not.'''

Zimmer said he didn't know when the automakers will hear back from the White House on their request. In a Jan. 7 interview, Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Tom LaSorda said he and his counterparts at GM and Ford expect to meet with Bush again sometime during 2007.

Critical Technology

``Japan and other Asian countries have identified advanced batteries as a critical competitive technology and are investing several hundred millions of dollars to support their domestic manufacturers,'' said Greg Martin, a GM spokesman in Washington.

The U.S. needs a comparable effort in part because Japan won't share the results of this research with U.S.-based firms, Martin said.

Julie Ruggiero, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Energy Department, didn't immediately return calls seeking comment.

Toyota, the world's biggest seller of gasoline-electric hybrids, said yesterday that it's working to develop smaller and more powerful batteries that can be used in vehicles that get their initial charge from a home outlet.

It will be ``a long time'' before the technology is available, Executive Vice President Masatami Takimoto said, declining to be more specific.

Power for Plug-Ins

Toyota and GM have both said that inadequate batteries are the most significant obstacle to commercial production of plug-in hybrids. The vehicles can be charged at home and then switch to a gasoline engine when the battery's power runs out.

Both automakers use nickel metal hydride batteries in their gasoline-electric hybrids.

The Energy Department provides subsidies for pre-competitive research into batteries and other technologies in consultation with the U.S. Council for Automotive Research, a cooperative established by the three automakers in 1992. Much of the actual research takes place at universities, Zimmer said.

Don Walkowicz, executive direct of the Southfield, Michigan- based council, said he expects to hear a reply from the White House on the funding request within the next few weeks.

On Jan. 4, GM awarded two contracts to develop plug-in batteries. Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Solutions LLC and Cobasys, a joint venture of a Chevron Corp. subsidiary and Energy Conversion Devices Inc., will compete to create a useable lithium-ion battery for GM.

The subsidy request was reported earlier today by the Wall Street Journal.

To contact the reporter on this story: John Lippert in Detroit at jlippert@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 9, 2007 17:06 EST