Sustainable Transportation Day 2015 at the Energy Department

1/13 Sustainable Trucking
The Freightliner SuperTruck stopped by Energy Department headquarters as part of Sustainable Transportation Day on Monday, June 22, 2015. The Energy Department-supported truck has achieved a fuel efficiency of 12.2 miles per gallon, more than double that of the baseline vehicle.
Photo courtesy of Matt Dozier, Energy Department
2/13 3D-Printed Classic Cobra
The 3D-printed Shelby Cobra was on display during Sustainable Transportation Day. The car was printed using thermoplastic resin and carbon fiber material by the Big Area Additive Manufacturing Machine at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and features a motor propelled by energy-efficient wide bandgap power electronics.
Photo courtesy of Matt Dozier, Energy Department
3/13 Chevrolet Volt Slashing Carbon Emissions
The Chevrolet Volt is one of several plug-in electric vehicles on the market today, which play a key role in the country's transportation future. Switching to a mix of plug-in electric vehicles could reduce petroleum use by more than 40 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30 percent.
Photo courtesy of Matt Dozier, Energy Department
4/13 Charging Forward with Electric Vehicles
As part of the EV Everywhere Grand Challenge, the Energy Department is working to lower the cost of plug-in electric vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt so they are as affordable for the average American family as gasoline-powered vehicles within the next 10 years.
Photo courtesy of Matt Dozier, Energy Department
5/13 Simulating Sustainable Racing
This Green Racing simulator is a fun way to demonstrate how small changes in efficiency, fuel choices and advanced technologies can improve vehicle performance on the racetrack and on public roadways.
Photo courtesy of Matt Dozier, Energy Department
6/13 Fueling Up with Hydrogen
Fuel cell electric vehicles like the Hyundai Tucson run on hydrogen gas rather than gasoline and have the potential to significantly reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil.
Photo courtesy of Matt Dozier, Energy Department
7/13 Fuel Cell Cars Hitting the Road
Fuel cell vehicles like the Toyota Mirai are more available to consumers than ever before. These cars can be driven more than 300 miles on one tank of hydrogen and refueling takes less than five minutes.
Photo courtesy of Matt Dozier, Energy Department
8/13 A Hydrogen-Fueled Hyundai
The cost of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles such as this Hyundai Tucson has dropped by 50 percent since 2006 with help from Energy Department-supported research and development.
Photo courtesy of Matt Dozier, Energy Department
9/13 High-Performing 3D-Printed Ride
The 3D-printed Shelby Cobra includes an electric motor that allows the vehicle to go from zero to 60 miles per hour in under five seconds.
Photo courtesy of Matt Dozier, Energy Department
10/13 Cleaner Cars
Fuel cell vehicles like the Hyundai Tucson are more efficient than conventional internal combustion engine vehicles and produce no harmful tailpipe exhaust--their only emission is water.
Photo courtesy of Matt Dozier, Energy Department
11/13 It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's SuperTruck!
The Energy Department's SuperTruck initiative is boosting the fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks that haul much of our nation's goods and products.
Photo courtesy of Matt Dozier, Energy Department
12/13 The Finishing Touches
The process used to create the high-quality surface finish for the Shelby Cobra could serve as a model for future large-scale 3D-printed vehicles and products.
Photo courtesy of Matt Dozier, Energy Department
13/13 A Winning (and Sustainable) Score
Using real race engine data, the Green Racing simulator calculates the amount of petroleum fuel consumed for both E85 and race fuel, and highlights the “green” scores for driving based on how much petroleum the driver saves using the hybrid system.
Photo courtesy of Matt Dozier, Energy Department

On June 22, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) hosted Sustainable Transportation Day at the Energy Department’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. Together, the Bioenergy , Fuel Cell, and Vehicle Technologies Offices showcased how EERE’s strategic investments in sustainable transportation technologies are improving vehicle efficiency and advancing the use of alternative fuel vehicles. The event was kicked off by remarks from Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Reuben Sarkar.

With transportation currently contributing one-third of greenhouse gas emissions and Americans still spending more than half a billion dollars per day on imported oil,  the President recently made a historic commitment to reduce the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions by 26% to 28% by 2025.

To make these aggressive emission reductions a reality, the Energy Department is pursuing an all-of-the-above energy strategy to invest in research, development, demonstration, and deployment of energy technologies across the board.

During Sustainable Transportation Day, visitors had the opportunity to see first-hand several of these EERE-supported technologies, ranging from high-efficiency internal combustion engines to vehicles that rely on electricity and hydrogen.

SuperTruck
While the original goal of the SuperTruck project was to improve the freight efficiency of a Class 8 tractor trailer by 50%, the trucks developed so far have greatly exceeded this goal.  At the event, visitors had the opportunity to see the Freightliner SuperTruck built by Daimler Trucks North America, which achieved a 115% increase over the baseline vehicle. The Vehicle Technologies Office hopes to continue progress in the coming year by launching SuperTruck II with the goal to improve freight hauling efficiency by 100% by 2020 with a focus on cost-effectiveness compared to a 2009 baseline.

3-D Printed Shelby Cobra
The 3-D printed Shelby Cobra car is a “plug and play” laboratory on wheels that can test batteries, fuel cells, and other advanced vehicle technologies. The “3-D printed car” was developed and printed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory with support from EERE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office in a mere six weeks. With the Big Area Additive Manufacturing machine, the 3-D printing process required less than half of the energy a conventional process would use to make these car parts. The advanced composite materials used in this car cut the vehicle’s weight in half while actually improving its safety.

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles
The Hyundai Tucson and the Toyota Mirai fuel cell electric vehicles, made possible in part by the research, development, and deployment activities over the years of our Fuel Cell Technologies Office, were also on display. Currently available for lease and soon to be for sale in the United States, these fuel cell electric vehicles are fueled by hydrogen that can be produced by diverse sources, including natural gas or renewable energy. The Fuel Cells Technologies Office funding has helped cut the cost of fuel cells by 50% since 2006.

Green Racing Simulator
Visitors were able to “take a spin” on the Green Racing Simulator, which models a hybrid race car and gives racers a “green score” based on how much petroleum they save through clean, fast, and efficient driving. A partnership between the Energy Department, the Environmental Protection Agency, and SAE International, Green Racing uses motorsport competition to promote, develop, and test cleaner fuels and more efficient technologies. While based on popular racing games, the simulator integrates technologies, such as hybridization, and renewable fuels, such as cellulosic ethanol, to help the player have a true Green Racing experience.

Algae Surfboard
The Algae Surfboard—made from algal oil-based foam instead of polyurethane foam from fossil fuels—made its way from San Diego to Washington, D.C., for Sustainable Transportation Day. It was developed by researchers at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) California Center for Algae Biotechnology in collaboration with Solazyme, and was presented to San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer just this April. The algal oil used to make this sustainable surfboard was converted to polyols by UCSD chemists. It was then sent to the surfboard manufacturer Arctic Foam, which shaped the foam boards and coated them with fiberglass and a renewable plant-based resin.

With about 200 attendees, EERE’s inaugural Sustainable Transportation Day gave visitors the opportunity to see and touch exhibits displaying a number of cutting-edge technologies, all with the goal of reducing our dependence on foreign oil and decreasing our greenhouse gas emissions.