Department Of Energy Offering Up To $11 Million In Funding To Med + Heavy-Duty Power Train & Dual Fuel Fleet Demonstration Projects

Up to $11 million in new funding will be available to projects demonstrating medium + heavy-duty power train electrification or dual fuel fleets, via a new funding opportunity announcement (FOA) from the US Department of Energy.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has predicted that this FOA will result in 2 to 4 new funding awards being handed out. Reportedly, the majority of funding is expected to go towards the power train electrification projects.

With regard to the FOA for medium + heavy-duty power train electrification, the stated interest is to spur research, development, and demonstration of power trains for both medium + heavy-duty plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and electric vehicles (EV) that can cut fuel consumption by at least 50% (as compared to comparable combustion-engine power trains).

The offerings involved need to be flexible enough to allow for commercialization (scaling, modifications for different uses, etc), it should be noted. There will be 3 phases for the projects involved — phase 1 will consist of power train development; phase 2 will consist of integration into working vehicles; and phase 3 will consist of real-world demonstration for 1–2 years.

Green Car Congress provides more information on the FOA for dual fuel fleets:

The objective of this AOI is to demonstrate and evaluate the performance and emissions systems of dual fuel heavy-duty vehicles equipped with engines capable of operation using a mixture of diesel fuel and gaseous fuels (natural gas, propane or natural gas derived fuels such as DME).

The vehicles and dual fuel technologies shall be compliant with New or Inside Useful Life Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certification requirements (or California Air Resources Board equivalent – CARB), Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), be commercially available, and not experimental, pre-production, or planned for further development under the project.

Demonstration vehicles will reportedly need to be tested in conditions typical of working vehicles of the type (public transportation buses, fire trucks, long-haul trucks, etc). Performance is expected to be comparable to conventional, commonly used trucks. All systems must be produced in the US.