"BALTIMORE -- The speed at which the world embraces the electric car rests in its ability to build a better battery.

Several U.S. companies hope to race ahead of foreign rivals by using federal loans and grants to commercialize electric cars and lighter, longer-lasting batteries. But a Canadian company might get there first.

Mississauga, Ontario-based Electrovaya Inc. yesterday unveiled the Maya 300, a plug-in electric car that can get up to 120 miles on a charge of its lithium-ion battery. The Maya 300 charges in about eight hours, plugs into a regular household outlet and will be available to consumers within a year, promised Electrovaya Chairman and CEO Sankar Das Gupta, who unveiled a four-door version of the vehicle at the city's Inner Harbor."

Michael Burnham reports for Greenwire June 24, 2009. [2]