Sec. 2044. Medium- and heavy-duty commercial and transit vehicles 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 and liquefied natural gas; development and integration of engine technologies designed for natural 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; mild hybrid, 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 infrastructure; advanced internal combustion engines; complete vehicle and power pack modeling, simulation, and testing; hydrogen vehicle technologies, including fuel cells and internal combustion engines, and hydrogen infrastructure, including hydrogen energy storage to enable renewables and provide hydrogen for fuel and power; retrofitting advanced technologies onto existing truck fleets; advanced boosting systems; engine down speeding; and integration of these and other advanced systems onto a single truck and trailer platform.
At the end of each fiscal year through fiscal year 2020, the Secretary shall submit to Congress an annual report describing activities undertaken in the previous year under this section, 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. The Secretary shall conduct a competitive grant program to demonstrate the integration of multiple advanced technologies on Class 8 truck and trailer platforms, including a combination of technologies listed in subsection (a)(1).
Applicant teams may be comprised of truck and trailer manufacturers, engine and component manufacturers, fleet customers, university researchers, and other applicants as appropriate for the development and demonstration of integrated Class 8 truck and trailer systems. The Secretary, in coordination with the partners of the interagency research program described in subsection (a)(1)— shall develop standard testing procedures and technologies for evaluating the performance of advanced heavy vehicle technologies under a range of representative duty cycles and operating conditions, including for heavy hybrid propulsion systems; shall evaluate heavy vehicle performance using work performance-based metrics other than those based on miles per gallon, including those based on units of volume and weight transported for freight applications, and appropriate metrics based on the work performed by nonroad systems; and may construct heavy duty truck and bus testing facilities.
The Secretary shall undertake a pilot program of research, development, demonstration, and commercial applications of technologies to improve total machine or system efficiency for nonroad mobile equipment including agricultural, construction, air, and sea port equipment, and shall seek opportunities to transfer relevant research findings and technologies between the nonroad and on-highway equipment and vehicle sectors.