WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Energy will dedicate $30 million toward advancing plug-in electric vehicles (PHEV) through a partnership with General Motors, Ford and General Electric.

The funding will cover about half of the cost of three demonstration and development projects that will take place over a three-year period. The goal is to overcome PHEV barriers, such as making the cars cost-competitive by 2014, and ready for mass commercialization by 2016. The vehicles are intended to have a 40-mile driving range without needing a recharge, which represents about 70 percent of the average daily travel in the U.S.

“The projects announced today demonstrate a shared public-private sector commitment to advance clean vehicle technologies and will help reduce our dependence on foreign oil while also confronting the serious challenge of global climate change,” said DOE Assistant Secretary Andy Karsner.

General Motors will work with the DOE on developing lithium-ion battery-based vehicles and components that will eventually be deployed in a demonstration fleet in three regions.

Ford’s project will focus on accelerating the mass production of PHEVs by developing a viable production program based on a series of tests on propulsion system design, controls and communications.

General Electric will partner with Chrysler on demonstrating PHEVs that use a dual-battery energy storage system with a 40-mile electric driving range.