Chrysler announced today that it will receive up to $48 million as part of a $2.4 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act DOE Vehicle Electrification program from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

The American manufacturer will use these money to build a total of 140 Ram PHEVs as part of its three-year demonstration project that includes various geographic and climatic locations across the United States. The new Ram PHEV will caryy the 5.7-liter HEMI V8 engine with a two mode hybrid transmission but also a 12KwHr lithium ion battery.

According to Chrysler the car is capable of up to 20 miles of zero-emission, pure-electric range without the need for gasoline while the fuel economy is expected to be improved with more than 65%.

“This initiative represents how government, automotive industry, suppliers and key partners are reaching common goals and demonstrates how rapidly this type of advanced technology can be brought to market,” said Paolo Ferrero, Senior Vice President – Powertrain, Chrysler Group LLC.

“DOE-support for domestic advanced technology is an important enabler for Chrysler Group and its key suppliers in order to understand and test customer acceptance and the capability of PHEV systems in a variety of real-world conditions.”