DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Ener1 Inc. (HEV) announced it will enter the utility-scale energy- storage market, supplying batteries for a new federal smart-grid program.

The U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday unveiled 16 projects would get federal funding. One is a Pacific Northwest team including Portland General Electric Co. (POR) to conduct a regional smart-grid demonstration project designed to expand upon existing electric infrastructure and test new smart-grid technology with up to 60,000 customers in five states.

Ener1 will build the batteries for five one-megawatt power systems that will be used by Portland General "to help manage peak demand and smooth the variations in power from renewable sources like wind and solar."

Shares of the rechargeable-battery maker closed Tuesday at $5.42 and were inactive premarket. The stock is down 24% this year. Ener1 earlier this month said its third-quarter loss widened as higher research and development costs and other expenses offset sharply higher sales.

-By Kevin Kingsbury, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2354; kevin.kingsbury@dowjones.com