Wayne State University will offer certificate programs in advanced energy storage. Courses will focus on things like electric vehicle batteries, and updating the electric grid to handle electric vehicle charging.
Jay Baron is the president of the Center for Automotive Research. He says the car industry is clamoring for engineers with those skills:
"When you speak to any of the auto companies, they will tell you: if you’ve got a field of study that has the term 'battery' or 'energy storage' in it, you’ve piqued the interest. My daughter is looking for a job, and I’ve told her if there’s any way she can get 'battery' into the title of her degree, she’d do much better."
Baron says several universities are retooling their engineering programs to incorporate more battery-related course offerings.
But he says there are lingering questions about the long-term viability of the electric vehicle market.
