EnerDel has snagged a research and development deal with Nissan to work on a conductive material that they hope would lead to cheaper automotive batteries.

The Indianapolis company said the project to develop a new electrolyte will take place at the Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago. EnerDel and Argonne previously have worked on developing lithium-titanate batteries, the company said.

EnerDel and its parent company Ener1 (NSDQ: HEV) seem to have won strong interest from major and startup automakers who plan to roll out plug-in hybrid or all-electric cars in the next few years. Many of the announcements have centered on testing Ener1's lithium-ion battery packs.

Earlier this month, Volvo said it would use Ener1's battery packs for two plug-in hybrid V70 demonstration cars. Volvo plans to launch the car for the market in 2012.

In May, EnerDel signed a letter of intent with Fisker Automotive to supply batteries for Fisker's launch of its first model, Fisker Karma, next year. The agreement lets Fisker test the battery packs to see if they would be a good fit before the Irvine, Calif.-based carmaker decides whether to sign a long-term supply contract.

The battery maker is supposed to supply batteries to Norway-based Think, has struggled to roll out and sell its electric cars. Think temporary shut down production last winter and faced bankruptcy. EnerDel's parent company, Ener1, is an investor. Ener1 and other Think investors pumped $5.7 million into Think to keep it alive.