Sec. 201. Program
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The Secretary, in partnership with relevant research and development programs in other Federal agencies, and a range of appropriate industry stakeholders, shall carry out a program of cooperative research, development, demonstration, and commercial application activities on advanced technologies for medium- to heavy-duty commercial, vocational, recreational, and transit vehicles, including activities in the areas of— engine efficiency and combustion research; onboard storage technologies for compressed natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas; development and integration of engine technologies designed for compressed natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas operation of a variety of vehicle platforms; waste heat recovery and conversion; improved aerodynamics and tire rolling resistance; energy and space-efficient emissions control systems; heavy hybrid, hybrid hydraulic, plug-in hybrid, and electric platforms, and energy storage technologies; drivetrain optimization; friction and wear reduction; engine idle and parasitic energy loss reduction; electrification of accessory loads; onboard sensing and communications technologies; advanced lightweighting materials and vehicle designs; increasing load capacity per vehicle; thermal management of battery systems; recharging infrastructure; compressed natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas infrastructure; advanced internal combustion engines; complete vehicle modeling and simulation; hydrogen vehicle technologies, including fuel cells and internal combustion engines, and hydrogen infrastructure; retrofitting advanced technologies onto existing truck fleets; and integration of these and other advanced systems onto a single truck and trailer platform.
The Secretary shall appoint a full-time Director to coordinate research, development, demonstration, and commercial application activities in medium- to heavy-duty commercial, recreational, and transit vehicle technologies. Responsibilities of the Director shall be to— improve coordination and develop consensus between government agency and industry partners, and propose new processes for program management and priority setting to better align activities and budgets among partners; regularly convene workshops, site visits, demonstrations, conferences, investor forums, and other events in which information and research findings are shared among program participants and interested stakeholders; develop a budget for the Department’s activities with regard to the interagency program, and provide consultation and guidance on vehicle technology funding priorities across agencies; determine a process for reviewing program technical goals, targets, and timetables and, where applicable, aided by life-cycle impact and cost analysis, propose revisions or elimination based on program progress, available funding, and rate of technology adoption; evaluate ongoing activities of the program and recommend project modifications, including the termination of projects, where applicable; recruit new industry participants to the interagency program, including truck, trailer, and component manufacturers who have not traditionally participated in federally sponsored research and technology development activities; and other responsibilities as determined by the Secretary, in consultation with interagency and industry partners.
At the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress an annual report describing activities undertaken in the previous year, active industry participants, efforts to recruit new participants, progress of the program in meeting goals and timelines, and a strategic plan for funding of activities across agencies.