Obama knows the race is hotting up to be the Energy Leader in the 21st Century

To produce the next generation of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and the advanced battery components that will make these vehicles run, President Barack Obama Thursday announced $2.4 billion in economic stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"This investment will not only reduce our dependence on foreign oil, it will put Americans back to work,"

President Obama said while touring Southern California Edison's Electric Vehicle Center in Pomona, California.

"It positions American manufacturers on the cutting edge of innovation and solving our energy challenges."

"We have a choice to make,

Obama told an audience of workers and local officials.

"We can remain one of the world's leading importers of foreign oil, or we can make the investments that will allow us to become the world's leading exporter of renewable energy. We can let climate change continue to go unchecked, or we can help stem it. We can let the jobs of tomorrow be created abroad, or we can create those jobs right here in America and lay the foundation for our lasting prosperity."

It will take investment from government, Obama said, promoting his budget proposal to Congress as well as the $798 billion approved in February under the ARRA legislation.

"That's how we sent a man to the moon. That's how we were able to launch a world wide web. And it's how we'll build the clean energy economy that's the key to our competitiveness in the 21st century."