The U.S. Department of Energy on Nov. 30 announced it will establish a major advanced-battery research center on the campus of Argonne National Laboratory outside Chicago. The Batteries and Energy Storage Hub, also called the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR). Establishment of the Hub is tied to the award of DOE funding of up to $120 million for a research team led by Argonne and consisting of additional national labs, universities, and private companies, the latter consisting of Dow Chemical Co., Applied Materials Inc., Johnson Controls Inc., and Clean Energy Trust. JCESR will integrate independent research being done by the participating entities into a coordinated effort. It is the fourth Hub established by the DOE since 2010 (the others address nuclear energy, building efficiency, and fuels derived from sunlight), and like the others it is modeled on the "strong scientific management characteristics of the Manhattan Project" and similarly renowned enterprises. Research will apply to multiple industries, not just automotive.