Grant Money Assists Trucking Industry in Meeting Environmental Goals

The US Department of Energy (DOE) awarded $115 million in grants to truck and engine manufactures to fund cutting-edge research that will help the trucking industry reduce its carbon footprint in the near term.  Truck and engine manufacturers will use the grants to further research programs on technologies that improve the fuel mileage of heavy-duty trucks. 

Cummins, Daimler Trucks North America and Navistar received the bulk of the grant money, amounting to roughly $40 million each.   The grants will fund programs aimed at developing cost-effective measures to increase the fuel efficiency of Class 8 long-haul freight trucks by 50 per cent by 2015.  The projects will focus on improved aerodynamics, reducing engine idling technologies, using waste heat recovery to increase engine efficiency, advanced combustion techniques and hybrid vehicles.

CTA applauds DOE’s investment in these valuable research programs, which will provide numerous benefits to the trucking industry, government and the environment.  Through its enviroTruck initiative, the CTA has been advocating for some time that Canadian governments at both the federal and provincial levels should work with the industry to make similar investments in the development and adoption of new technologies for reducing fuel consumption.  The use of many add-on devices that improve the fuel efficiency of trucks, including improved aerodynamics and auxiliary power units for anti-idling would help make fleets as green as possible. Only through the active co-operation and collaboration of manufacturers, motor carriers and the government can we achieve our fuel efficiency and environmental performance goals.  For more information on enviroTruck, please visit www.cantruck.ca.