The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy said it plans to announce three funding opportunities this spring aimed at technologies that well help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the transportation sector.
The potential funding would support “innovative research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D),” according to the department.
The Biden Administration has made climate change a priority and said it wants to “achieve net-zero emissions no later than 2050 to the benefit of all Americans.”
The three potential funding opportunities are:
SuperTruck 3: Improving the vehicle efficiency and safety of freight transportation while minimizing environmental impact is critical to helping the country decrease its petroleum use and reduce emissions as the economy grows. The Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) and the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) are interested in partnering to develop and demonstrate R&D concepts to enable higher efficiency, low-emission medium- and heavy-duty trucks and freight systems. Funding aims to take advantage of the significant opportunities for the entire freight and truck transportation system to achieve higher efficiency and electrification (battery, hydrogen fuel cell, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell range extenders).
Low Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Technologies Research, Development, and Deployment: VTO funds a broad portfolio of RDD&D projects to develop affordable, efficient, and clean transportation options to tackle the climate crisis and accelerate the development and widespread use of a variety of innovative transportation technologies. This funding will support innovative solutions for on- and off-road vehicles to support the reduction of emissions and increased efficiencies in the transportation sector. To achieve this, areas that could be explored include community-level electric vehicle (EV) demonstrations, EV infrastructure and charging, and advanced engines and fuels that reduce emissions.
Bioenergy Technologies Office Scale-Up and Conversion: The Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) is focused on developing technologies that convert domestic biomass and other waste resources into low carbon biofuels and bioproducts. These bioenergy technologies can enable a transition to a clean energy economy, create high-quality jobs, support rural economies, and spur innovation in renewable energy and chemicals production—the bioeconomy. This funding anticipates supporting high-impact technology research, development, and demonstration to bolster the body of scientific and engineering knowledge needed to produce low-carbon biofuels at lower cost. This will involve partnerships with industry to demonstrate these technologies at industrially-relevant scales.
Source: DOE
