U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is visiting Detroit today and is reportedly planning to announce the first set of winners of automotive battery research grants Wednesday, reported the Detroit Free Press.

The money would come from the $2 billion set aside by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that was passed in February this year. A host of battery makers have since applied for a piece of it, including Boston Power, Quallion, Planar Energy Devices, Valence, General Electric and Chrysler.

Battery makers see the federal program as a lifeline for setting up research and manufacturing centers in the United States. The grants are supposed to help speed up the development of plug-in hybrid and all-electric cars.