Delphi Corp. (OTC: DPHIQ) announced on Wednesday that NASA and the Michigan Research Institute (MRI) are expected to give a $1 million grant to the firm to promote the development of an advanced welding process that would be beneficial for making vehicles and spacecraft.

The grant is for the third stage of development for a welding process known as Deformation Resistance Welding (DRW). The process is unique in that it can weld similar and dissimilar materials and shapes, according to the firm. This helps to lower costs when compared to conventional welding solutions.

We're very pleased to have NASA's continued support of this program,

said Timothy Forbes, director of commercialization and licensing, Delphi

Technologies, Inc. This continued commitment to DRW for a third phase of projects will allow us to make even more progress for the future of this technology.

The benefit of the DRW process is not confined to space manufacturing but can also be used in such areas like mobile medical products, automobiles, and recreational vehicles.

The grant is expected to be announced this week.

NASA