DETROIT (Jan. 3, 2011)—The U.S. Department of Energy has announced it will make $184 million available in grants for advanced vehicle research and development, including tire development projects.
The agency said the grants are available to industry, laboratory and university teams in R&D toward multiple vehicle projects, including: Development of tire and driver feedback technologies that improve fuel efficiency for fleet vehicles; advanced fuels and lubricants that can provide more efficient performance in advanced combustion engines; design, prototyping and testing of a vehicle that is 50 percent lighter than the average passenger vehicle, using lightweight materials; advanced battery cells and design technology for advanced batteries; advanced power electronics and electric motor technology; thermoelectric technologies that turn engine heat waste into electricity; and, development of advanced vehicle testing and evaluation procedures.
Applications are due by Feb. 28. The DOE expects to award the grants during the summer of 2011.