Government Grants

EIN News says, "Winners of Energy Grants Expected to Be Announced on Wednesday. The Obama administration on Wednesday is expected to announce the winners of $2.4 billion in federal grants to companies and universities that will help make advanced automotive batteries and electric vehicles. (washingtonpost.com)".
I suppose this could be a good program. We certainly spend a lot on foreign oil, with the associated disadvantage that those foreign suppliers will continue to have us under political/financial control.
I'm not sure about the money. I have experience in handling big numbers, and I always like to reduce them to a per unit basis. For example, dollars per capita or dollar grants per recipient. The related aspect is that improved batteries, which would be the basis of practical electric cars, would still require substantial energy from electricity power plants. This could be accomplished with nuclear energy or coal burning units, but in either case would require a significant increase in production capability.
The other possibility is: what result might we expect if we pumped $2.4 billion into oil and gas exploration in the US? Some environmentalists worry about contaminating the ecology, but with $2.4 billion we could probably make those exploration projects as neat as a pin.
There seems to be substantial information on the existence of methane clathrate at deep subterranean levels. This is also called methane hydrate or methane ice. It is a crystalline composition of methane (natural gas) and water. It can exist only at high pressures. If the hole is drilled from the surface into a methane clathrate deposit, the pressure is immediately reduced, the clathrate breaks down, and the methane comes out of the hole under minor pressure. Doesn't this sound like a good way to spend some money, with a strong possibility of gaining a financial and international political advantage?