"The initiative grew from an internal "grand challenge" contest late last year at IBM's Almaden lab. It now includes collaborators from the country's five national laboratories, as well as universities, including the University of California at Berkeley. IBM expects nearly 300 top scientists and battery experts to gather for a conference about the project that is scheduled for late August. IBM is the lead organization in a research proposal now being considered by the Energy Dept. If approved, the effort would also tap stimulus funds. "