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The Obama administration could be close to making announcements about how it plans to award $2 billion in grants to develop batteries that could be used in electric vehicles.

Michigan is gearing up for a Wednesday appearance by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, hoping that he will make an announcement about federal support for batteries that could help the U.S. develop an electric-vehicle industry. In North Carolina, the U.S. Energy Secretary will appear at Polypore International Inc.'s (PPO) Celgard LLC, a supplier of battery parts that has applied for funding.

The U.S. vice president is slated to appear in Detroit at NextEnergy, a nonprofit that aims to advance alternative and renewable energy. The expectation is that the announcement will center on advanced batteries and the work that would be done by companies in partnership with General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. (F), Chrysler Group LLC and battery companies building plants in the area, NextEnergy Chief Executive Keith Cooley told reporters on Tuesday.

Separately, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu is scheduled to meet with workers in Charlotte on Wednesday to discuss long-term investments to rebuild the U.S. economy and rebuild for the future. The Energy Department declined to elaborate.

The U.S. is trying to spur the development of electric vehicles, hoping to create jobs in a new industry while also reducing global warming and lessening U.S. dependence on foreign oil. The U.S. Energy Department has said it expects to announce soon the recipients of $2 billion in awards to companies that produce high-efficiency batteries and other parts needed for electric cars. Some 122 companies have applied for the money.

Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) is among the applicants. In May, the company applied for U.S. government matching funds to build a lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in Holland, Mich. The battery plant is being built in partnership with Ford. Johnson Controls previously announced it had been awarded $148.5 million in incentives from the state of Michigan.

Jacqueline Strayer, a spokeswoman for Johnson Controls, said the company expects to have several people at the Wednesday event with Biden. "We don't have anything to report at this time," she said. A Celgard spokesman had no immediate comment.

-By Siobhan Hughes, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6654; Siobhan.Hughes@dowjones.com