The U.S. Energy Department said it was investing more than $55 million on more than two dozen projects aimed at improving electric vehicles.

"Investments in the next generation of vehicle technologies will both strengthen our economy and lead to a more fuel efficient, clean energy future," Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in a statement.

The initiative is part of a project launched in 2012 that aims to put plug-in electric vehicles on the same footing as fuel-powered vehicles in terms of cost and convenience by 2022.

The Department of the Army is collaborating with the Energy Department at a facility in Warren, Mich., in a research project focused on battery technology and reduced friction from vehicle power trains.

"Improving vehicle efficiency is instrumental to establishing a 21st century transportation sector that creates jobs as well as protects future generations from harmful carbon emissions," Moniz said Thursday.

The Energy Department says electric vehicle sales in the first six months of this year were 30 percent higher year-on-year, while the cost of vehicle batteries has dropped by more than 60 percent since 2009.