Publications

Clean Cities and Communities Partnership 2023 Activity Report

1/16/2025

Clean Cities and Communities (CC&C) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) partnership within the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) Technology Integration (TI) Program. CC&C advances clean transportation nationwide through collaboration with communities by building partnerships with public and private stakeholders to create equitable deployment of clean transportation solutions that advance the nation’s environment, energy security, and economic prosperity. These efforts help businesses and consumers make smarter and more informed transportation energy choices that can save energy, lower costs, provide resilience through fuel diversification, and reduce emissions. This report summarizes the success and impact of partnership activities based on data and information provided in their 2023 annual reports.

Authors: Singer, M.; Johnson, C.; Wilson, A.; Reichelt, L.; Abdullah, M.; Downs Dybas, N.

Model Year 2025 Fuel Economy Guide: EPA Fuel Economy Estimates

12/4/2024

The Fuel Economy Guide is published by the U.S. Department of Energy as an aid to consumers considering the purchase of a new vehicle. The Guide lists estimates of miles per gallon (mpg) for each vehicle available for the new model year. These estimates are provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in compliance with Federal Law. By using this Guide, consumers can estimate the average yearly fuel cost for any vehicle. The Guide is intended to help consumers compare the fuel economy of similarly sized cars, light duty trucks and special purpose vehicles.

The Role of Biofuels and Biomass Feedstocks for Decarbonizing the U.S. Economy by 2050

4/11/2024

Bioenergy holds significant potential to transform the transportation sector, helping to eliminate hard-to-abate sources of emissions, such as aviation, that lack viable electrification alternatives. Further, integrating more biomass-based electrification pathways will diversify the country’s electrical grid, increasing its stability in the future. This study uses process-based analyses of biomass resources and pathways to demonstrate the decarbonization potential and cost-efficiency of scaling bioenergy in the United States.

Clean Cities Coalitions 2022 Activity Report

1/29/2024

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) works with local Clean Cities coalitions across the country as part of its Technology Integration Program. These efforts help businesses and consumers make smarter and more informed transportation energy choices that can save energy, lower costs, provide resilience through fuel diversification, and reduce emissions. This report summarizes the success and impact of coalition activities based on data and information provided in their annual reports.

Authors: Singer, M.; Johnson, C.; Wilson, A.

The Future of Biofuels in the United States Transportation Sector

12/29/2023

This article analyses conversion options for biomass to fuels in the U.S. transportation sector, particularly for heavy duty transportation and aviation, based on regional carbon dioxide transportation and injection costs and current U.S. tax credits. The article found that that under current credits biofuels play a role only in some regions of the U.S., but a range of policy scenarios, including combining biofuel production with carbon-capture and storage, can lead to biofuels playing a significant role nationally.

Authors: Geissler, C; Ryu, J; Maravelias, C

A Deep Decarbonization Framework for the United States Economy – a Sector, Sub-Sector, and End-Use Based Approach

12/8/2023

Using the recently developed Decarbonization Analysis Model, this report analyzes the estimated greenhouse gas mitigation potential for projected energy demand based on several sector-level and cross-sectoral decarbonization pathways, including electrification, low-carbon fuels, and the reduction of fugitive emissions. The report analyzes the remaining projected emissions and highlights the need for developing low-carbon and carbon-negative alternatives to mitigate the fossil-based carbon emissions resulting from the fossil-based fuels in heavy-duty transportation.

Authors: Kar, S; Hawkins, T; Zaimes, G; Oke, D; Singh, U; Wu, X; Kwon, H; Zhang, S; Zang, G; Zhou, Y; Elgowainy, A; Wang, M; Ma, O

Bioenergy Technology Office Multi-Year Program Plan

3/1/2023

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) works alongside national laboratories, universities, and private industry partners to advance clean energy technologies sourced from renewable carbon resources. This Multi-Year Program Plan (MYPP) establishes BETO’s missions and goals, while also identifying strategic approaches to the Office’s research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) plans. Included in these plans are initiatives to decarbonize multiple sectors of the U.S. economy, de-risk relevant technologies, create jobs and economic opportunities, and increase participation in the continued development and use of clean energy technologies. This MYPP is at once an internal, operational guide, as well as a resource to communicate BETO’s mission and goals to stakeholders and to the public.

Clean Cities Coalitions 2021 Activity Report

1/24/2023

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) works with local Clean Cities coalitions across the country as part of its Technology Integration Program. These efforts help businesses and consumers make smarter and more informed transportation energy choices that can save energy, lower costs, provide resilience through fuel diversification, and reduce air emissions. This report summarizes the success and impact of coalition activities based on data and information provided in their annual progress reports.

Authors: Singer, M.; Johnson, C.; Wilson, A.

U.S. Renewable Diesel Fuel and Other Biofuels Plant Production Capacity

8/8/2022

This report is intended to measure estimated gallons of renewable diesel fuel, renewable heating oil, renewable jet fuel, renewable naphtha and gasoline, and other biofuels (excluding fuel ethanol and biodiesel) and biointermediates that a plant is capable of producing over a period of one year (365 consecutive days) starting on the first day of each report month.

Authors: U.S. Energy Information Administration

State and Alternative Fuel Provider Fleets: Fleet Compliance Annual Report - Model Year 2020, Fiscal Year 2021

5/19/2022

This annual report of the Alternative Fuel Transportation Program, which ensures compliance with DOE regulations covering state government and alternative fuel provider fleets pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct), as amended, provides fleet compliance results for manufacturing year 2020/fiscal year 2021.

Federal Best Practices: Core Principles of Sustainable Fleet Management

11/2/2020

This document is designed to help agency fleet managers understand and implement optimal petroleum reduction strategies for each fleet location by evaluating the most appropriate combination of the four core principles of sustainable fleet management: right-sizing the fleet to agency mission by implementing a vehicle allocation methodology study; minimizing vehicle miles traveled; increasing fleet fuel efficiency by replacing inefficient vehicles with more fuel-efficient vehicles, maintaining vehicles, driving more efficiently, and avoiding excessive idling; and optimizing cost-effective alternative fuel use, including maximizing use of existing alternative fuel infrastructure, installing alternative fuel infrastructure where practical (including electric vehicle charging stations), and aligning deployment of alternative fuel vehicles with fueling infrastructure.

Authors: Bentley, J.; Hodge, C.

Neste Renewable Diesel Handbook

10/1/2020

This report provides information on Neste Renewable Diesel, in Europe classified as a Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), and its use in diesel engines.

Authors: Neste Corporation

Evolution of Plug-In Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure in the United States

8/1/2020

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC) has tracked alternative fueling and electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the United States since 1991. This paper explores the history of the AFDC Station Locator, which was launched in 1999, and discusses the growth of electric vehicle supply equipment. It also looks at how electric vehicle drivers access public charging, and evaluates challenges, gaps, and opportunities facing both electric vehicle drivers and the industry as a whole.

Authors: Brown, A.; Lommele, S.; Eger, R.; Schayowitz, A.

Potential Biomass-Based Diesel Production in the United States by 2032

2/28/2020

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers the availability of feedstocks for fuel production when determining the yearly volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The amount of biomass-based diesel (BBD) that can be produced in the United States without increasing diversion effects on other uses should be one of the crucial factors that the agency considers in future volume rulemakings. This study provides insights for EPA in setting future volumetric obligations for BBD as well as advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel categories.

Authors: Zhou, Y; Baldino, C.; Searle, S.

Viable Class 7 and 8 Electric, Hybrid, and Alternative Fuel Tractors

12/1/2019

Trucking is at the start of significant changes in powertrains. The purpose of this report is to help clarify in an unbiased way the differences and similarities in a wide spectrum of developing powertrain choices facing fleets. This report focuses on the primary near-term drivetrain choices for the Class 7 and 8 North American heavy-duty tractor market.

Notes:

This copyrighted publication can be accessed through North American Council for Freight Efficiency's website.