She also harshly criticized the lack of understanding of policymakers on advanced vehicles.

'The fundamental issue that we have in the government ... is they're ignorant,' Wright said.

'They need to be educated... I get asked, 'I want one of those plug-ins like I saw my neighbor drive around.' They just do not understand the technology challenges. They don't understand where this stuff comes from. They don't understand what it's going to take to make us competitive here so that we can take the shutters off of 35,000 plants and make ourselves competitive again.'

She said suppliers and automakers need to have a more open approach. The US Advanced Battery Consortium and USCAR 'have been very successful' but with advanced batteries moving from the lab to the road 'that requires a different model.'

'We need to stop thinking of us in terms of competing against each other,' Wright said, calling for 'a more open, cards on the table approach.' She also said suppliers 'need to have a greater voice in setting the technology path.'

The Japanese, by comparison, have created a battery consortium consisting of automakers and battery companies that will work under the guidance of a government agency to come up with what they hope will be international standards for lithium-ion batteries that could power the next generation of cars and trucks.

The basic lithium-ion battery technology is getting there, she said, but 'the problem is we need to get more of them so we can drive down costs and drive the infrastructure.' Additionally, as others have also requested, the federal government needs to do a better job with incentives for battery research and development and for consumers looking to buy a hybrid or promised plug-in vehicle like the Chevy Volt or Toyota Motor Corp. plug-in which are planned to hit the market in late 2010.