This paper provides an overview of recent advances in battery technology resulting from the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) energy storage research and development (R&D) programs for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electrical vehicles (EVs). The DOE’s Office of Advanced Automotive Technologies (OAAT) is working with industry, national laboratories, universities, and other government agencies to develop technologies that will lead to a reduction in the petroleum used and the emissions generated by the transportation sector. The programs reviewed in this paper are focused on accelerating the development of energy storage technologies that are critical for the commercialization of HEVs and EV. These include the research conducted at DOE’s national laboratories to develop the high-power batteries needed for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and the collaborative research with the US Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) to develop the high-energy batteries needed for EVs.