The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced it will spend more than $45 million for 38 new projects that will research and develop vehicle technologies to improve fuel efficiency, lower transportation costs and protect the environment.
"By partnering with universities, private industry and our national labs, the Energy Department is helping to build a strong 21st century transportation sector that cuts harmful pollution, creates jobs and leads to a more sustainable energy future," says U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.
"By improving the fuel economy of our cars and trucks, we can save families and businesses money at the pump and better protect our air and water."
The 38 projects range from five major areas that are essential to advanced transportation technologies, such as lightweight and propulsion materials as well as affordable, efficient batteries, power electronics, fuels and lubricants, and efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Some of the projects include the following:
Body-in-white joining of aluminum to advanced high strength steel at prototype scale: A project at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that will develop and validate solid-state spot joining technology to join body-in-white high strength steel and aluminum; Breakthrough techniques for dissimilar material joining: A project at Johns Hopkins University that will develop heat-generating foils to provide strong and stable bonds between aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys and steels; Breakthrough techniques for dissimilar material joining: A project at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that will demonstrate laser-assisted joining of aluminum and carbon fiber components to reduce vehicle weight; Breakthrough techniques for dissimilar material joining: A project at The Ohio State University that will develop and demonstrate vapor-assisted collision welding of dissimilar metals.
