The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is making available $96 million for research projects focused on lowering vehicle emissions: from creating “cleaner” non-road engines and fuel technologies for rail, marine, aviation, and construction and agricultural applications, to developing electric drive components and materials to maximize electric vehicle efficiency.
Culver City, Calif.-based Parallel Systems has been awarded a $4.4 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant to test its autonomous, battery-electric-powered railcar technology. DOE is distributing a total of $175 million to 68 projects through the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).
New legislation has been introduced in Congress to establish a Freight Rail Innovation Institute (FRII) in which a university research partner and a locomotive manufacturer would work to develop zero-emission locomotives.
“Crude Oil Characterization Research Study,” a Sandia National Laboratories report to Congress commissioned by U.S. DOE (Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy, PHMSA (Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration) and TC (Transport Canada) Transport of Dangerous Goods Directorate) under the Section 7309 of the FAST (Fixing America’s Surface Transportation) Act, says that Bakken crude and other hydraulic fracturing (fracking)-derived oil are no more volatile than other types of oil.
