Doe/Industry Coordinated Ng Program

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Five –Year Natural Gas Vehicle Industry RD&D Roadmap

2004 - 2008

1. INTRODUCTION

The growth of the natural gas vehicle (NGV) industry addresses several of America’s public policy priorities simultaneously, including: dependence on foreign oil, urban air pollution, climate change, balance of trade and job retention. The industry has grown significantly over the past decade. However, for the industry to achieve its potential in addressing all these public policy priorities, a major expansion of NGV research, development, demonstration and deployment (RDD&D) is required. The industry, which is largely comprised of smaller, entrepreneurial companies cannot afford to fund all the needed RDD&D in a timely manner. A number of sub-national government entries, recognizing the importance of an expanding NGV market to their economic and environmental health, have invested (and continues to invest) in NGV RDDD. Unfortunately, even with this funding, much of the needed work is not being addressed. A significant federal government RDD&D funding effort is required. This document provides the details of that RDD&D. Table 1 provides a summary by program area of total funding needed (by all parties) over the last five years.

2. RDD&D Program Areas

For NGVs to achieve their market potential, RDD&D is needed in all the following areas:

Engine Development  Maintaining emission superiority over diesel and gasoline;  Improving the performance and efficiency of natural gas engines;  Reducing the cost of NGV “products” (e.g., cylinders, components, engines) through cost-reduction strategies, technology advancements, and economies of scale;  Expanding product offerings of engines to meet a wider range of customer needs, including the growing interest in marine applications.

Fuel Storage  Reducing the cost and weight of compressed and liquefied natural gas storage systems.

Vehicle Integration

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 Accelerating the integration of natural gas engines into vehicle platforms.

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Table 1: NGV RDD&D Funding Requirements

Fiscal Year and $ (000s)

Program Area Sub-Program 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Advanced 9,000 9,000 9,000 8,000 8,000 Engine Development Engine R&D Low Emissions 7,000 7,000 7,000 5,000 5,000 Technology

Fuel Storage Materials and 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 R&D Monitoring Systems

Integration with 12,000 12,000 12,000 7,000 7,000 OEMs Vehicle Integration On-Board 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 Storage

Compressor 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 Technology

Fueling Small Scale 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000 Infrastructure Liquefaction

L/CNG 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 Technology

Advanced Hybrids and 12,000 12,000 12,000 10,000 10,000 Technologies Fuel Cell Technologies

Demonstration Demonstration 20,000 20,000 25,000 25,000 25,000 and and Deployment Deployment

TOTALS 70,000 70,000 75,000 65,000 65,000

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Fueling Infrastructure Development  Lowering the cost of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) infrastructure;  Improving the durability and reliability of CNG and LNG infrastructure.

Advanced Technology Development  Integrating natural gas into advanced transportation technology programs, such as hybrids and fuel-cell vehicles, and developing bridging technologies for hydrogen use.

Demonstration, Data Collection and Deployment  Accelerating the introduction of new vehicles and infrastructure into the marketplace to achieve maximum benefits as soon as possible.

2.1 ENGINE DEVELOPMENT

Over the past 50 years or more, diesel engines have been optimized to meet high performance, reliability, and durability criteria demanded in commercial applications. Heavy-duty natural gas engine development, however, is only in its twelfth year of optimization. Many of the basic features of natural gas engines (e.g., spark ignition, lower compression ratios, throttled intakes, waste-gated turbo machinery), while positively impacting exhaust emissions performance, have negatively impacted power density, reliability, and part-load efficiency of natural gas engines. These current limitations can contribute to increased life-cycle costs and greater energy consumption relative to diesel engines. Further R&D is needed in order for natural gas engines to meet customer requirements for performance, efficiency, reliability, and durability. In addition to improving efficiency and performance, cost to the consumer must be reduced. The specific five and ten year engine development goals of the NGV industry are presented in Table 3. These goals are stated in engine-out emission values. Post- combustion treatment will bring natural gas emission results even lower. On the other hand, post-combustion treatment is needed for diesels just to meet the current EPA standards, with even more technology needed to meet EPA’s 2007 engine emission standards.

Table 2: Three and Five-Year Engine Development Goals THREE-YEAR GOALS (2006) Five-YEAR GOALS (2008)  NOx less than 0.5 g/bhp-hr  NOx less than 0.1 g/bhp-hr  PM less than 0.01 g/bhp-hr  PM less than 0.005 g/bhp-hr  5% cost premium  No cost premium  95% diesel efficiency over  99% diesel efficiency over entire operating range entire operating range

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2.1.1 Exhaust Emission Reductions

Beyond its advantage as an abundant domestic energy resource, the major benefit of natural gas use in transportation is the inherently superior environmental performance of natural gas engines deliver over their gasoline and diesel counterparts.

Natural gas was the first to achieve ULEV (then SULEV) emission certification in light- and medium-duty vehicles. Natural gas also has led the way to low emissions from heavy-duty engines. At a time when most heavy-duty compression ignition engines are mandated to meet 2.5 grams/bhp-hr for combined NOx and NMHC, natural gas engines are delivering significantly less than that. Much of the progress natural gas has made in penetrating specific markets (e.g., transit) is attributed to the ability of natural gas engines to offer these superior emission reductions. Natural gas is the ultimate low- sulfur fuel, and R&D efforts must be maintained to exploit its full low emissions potential in the light-, medium-, and heavy-duty engine and vehicle markets.

To date, natural gas engines are able to achieve lower emissions, primarily due to in- cylinder combustion modifications, and the use of simple oxidation catalysts. There is a whole new area of post-combustion aftertreatment technology that can be employed on natural gas engines to further reduce emissions of NOx, PM and air toxics. Future R&D should include testing and evaluation of these technologies and applications.

2.1.2 Improving Part-Load Efficiency

Many of today's natural gas engine offerings come close to matching diesel engine fuel efficiencies at full-load but are up to 30% less efficient at part-load. This occurs due to "throttling losses." In urban applications, where vehicles operate for long periods of time at idle or low-load conditions, throttling losses are significant and negatively impact fuel efficiency and, hence, life-cycle economics.

Promising technologies exist to reduce this problem, including: "skip-fire"; Miller cycle; charge air-cooling; exhaust gas recirculation; variable geometry turbocharging; advanced controls; multiport fuel injection; and even compression. Improving energy efficiency improves fuel economy. Since fuel cost savings are used to justify incremental vehicle and infrastructure costs, improving engine efficiencies will enhance the overall life-cycle economics of NGVs.

Again, the challenge will be to improve efficiencies, while maintaining lower emission levels and reducing costs.

2.1.3 Fuel Efficiency and Power Density

R&D also is needed to improve the operating efficiency and power density of medium- duty and heavy-duty natural gas engines. The industry goal is to increase the fuel

5 Version 1 efficiency of natural gas engines to within five percent of diesel in the next five years (and within one percent of diesel in 10 years). These performance improvements must be achieved at the same time that emission improvements are sought.

Spark-ignition systems dominate the NGV engine designs found in the market today. Significant improvements in spark plugs and integrated ignition systems have the potential to increase efficiency and power density by increasing the lean-burn limits of engines. Improved ignition systems also would reduce the service and maintenance requirements of natural gas engines.

Another area in which natural gas engines need to be improved is power density. Current natural gas engines have power ratings 10-20% lower than their diesel counterparts. This lower power density is due to the lower compression ratios and knock sensitivity of spark-ignited engines. Power enhancements -- including combustion chamber geometry optimization, air motion, heat transfer characteristics, and materials with greater thermal capacity -- represent some of the technology developments that would allow for diesel-like power density from natural gas engines.

Development of cost-effective closed-loop control systems is critical to maximizing performance and minimizing emissions of NGVs. Keys to this technology are cost- effective sensors with sufficient performance (e.g., range, repeatability, accuracy, life, contaminant tolerance) to detect engine knock, engine misfire, engine torque, exhaust gas oxygen content, and fuel composition. Development and testing of these concepts should be included as part of the engine development R&D program.

2.1.4 Compression Ignition Engines

Compression ignition natural gas engines could hold great advantages over spark- ignited engines in terms of fuel efficiency and performance. Because they can use diesel-like engine systems, they also could allow engine manufacturers to produce only one engine platform type (versus today’s two). This could improve the economies of scale in manufacturing, reduce the cost of natural gas engines and promote greater resale compatibility in the marketplace.

Continued development of CNG/LNG injector systems, diesel “micropilot” injectors, and part-load fuel control strategies, as well as optimization of the combustion process, are necessary under the engine R&D program.

2.1.5 Expansion of Engine Availability

The number of engines and power options for each is relatively limited in the natural gas engine area. More engines are needed, especially for heavy-duty applications requiring greater than 300 HP. Recently Mack Truck Inc. unveiled plans to add a natural gas- powered CH tractor to its line-up of model year 2001 vehicles. The CH tractor is

6 Version 1 equipped with Mack's E7G 350-hp dedicated, natural gas engine, which provides 1,250 lb-ft of torque at 1,250 rpm. Even with this addition to the line-up of heavy-duty engines, customer interest is pushing for larger (400+ hp) options. Larger engine sizes will also be needed to exploit the opportunities in marine applications. These engines will need to be "marinized" as well, a process that engine manufacturers are accustomed to doing for diesel.

2.2 FUEL STORAGE DEVELOPMENT

On-board fuel storage remains the single most expensive incremental cost item for NGVs. Industry goals are to reduce these costs 50% by 2008. System modeling efforts by the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) suggest that price reductions of 50% in vehicle premium and infrastructure costs would dramatically increase sales of NGVs. The specific five and ten year fuel storage development goals of the NGV industry are presented in Table 4.

Table 3: Three and Five-Year Fuel Storage Development Goals THREE-YEAR GOALS (2006) FIVE-YEAR GOALS (2008)  CNG: $50/gge or $56/dge  CNG: $37/gge or $42/dge  LNG: $62/gge or $70/dge  LNG: $37/gge or $dge

2.2.1 Compressed Natural Gas Storage

CNG is stored on vehicles at pressures between 3,000 psia and 3,600 psia. At these pressures, natural gas requires four to five times the tank volume of liquid fuels. By minimizing the amount of material used in these containers, size, weight, and cost can be kept to a minimum. Since materials represent more than 60% of the cost of these containers, development activities should focus on advanced new materials (e.g., high- strength steels, aluminum alloys, and composites) and processes that can be designed and optimized for NGV applications.

2.2.2 Liquefied Natural Gas Storage

LNG is stored on vehicles as a cryogenic liquid. LNG is the fuel of choice for many heavy-duty applications, especially long-haul and high-fuel-use trucking, because its energy density is greater than that of CNG. Research is needed to improve the performance of LNG fuel containers with respect to long-term storage of fuel without allowing venting. Lower-cost systems also are needed.

2.2.3 Low-Pressure Adsorbed Storage Systems

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Current CNG and LNG fuel system designs have been described above. As an alternative to these fuel storage methods, the gas industry has investigated an improved low-pressure gaseous fuel storage system that uses lightweight composite storage containers filled with activated carbon. Natural gas is adsorbed on the surface of the carbon without any chemical change or bonding. The low storage pressure of adsorbed natural gas systems increases the potential to develop very lightweight, full-composite containers as well as conformable containers that would have better space utilization characteristics in vehicles.

Considerable research is still required to move adsorbed natural gas (ANG) storage into the commercial arena. Improved, less expensive carbons are the most obvious requirements, but to support carbon development efforts, a more in-depth study of the fundamentals of adsorption must be performed. Basic research must address the optimum pore size and surface conditions for methane storage, as well as the impact of the non-methane constituents of natural gas. Heavier hydrocarbons, odorants, water and inerts all have a tendency to reduce the storage capacity of activated carbons. Complete system integration and demonstration is required, as is a study of the long- term operation of the containers to help understand their degradation as a function of gas composition, filling cycles, and carbon degradation.

2.2.4 Fuel System Integrity Monitoring

Federal, state, and local regulations require periodic visual inspection of natural gas fuel cylinders to detect problems that could compromise safety. Visual inspection is costly and time-consuming for the owner of the vehicle. Visual inspection was adopted in lieu of hydraulic recertification, a method that was popular before it was found to potentially damage certain types of fuel containers. The NGV industry supports further development of “smart fuel systems” that incorporate non-destructive monitoring systems in CNG and LNG fuel containers. The intent is for this technology to provide continuous monitoring of the structural and thermal integrity of CNG and LNG fuel containers. These systems would provide early warning to the vehicle operator, when a problem with the storage system is detected.

2.3 VEHICLE INTEGRATION

While design and cost of new fuel systems are important issues, the safe and efficient integration of those systems into vehicles involves several technical hurdles. Greater fuel storage can be accommodated on-board using better design integration with the chassis. In some cases, redesign of the chassis is needed.

Most NGV applications require multiple fuel containers for adequate fuel capacity. Solenoid valves, regulators, check valves, fuel pumps (LNG only), pressure-relief

8 Version 1 devices, and pressure-relief venting need to be designed as a system for the ultimate safety of the user. Durability, reliability, and crash-worthiness of fuel systems and safety components are essential for system integrity and operational success.

2.3.1 Heavy-Duty Vehicles

Heavy-duty natural gas engine development (see Section 2.1) is the first of many steps in getting a new heavy-duty vehicle on the road. Engine manufacturers develop the engines while truck original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are responsible for integrating the engines and fuel-storage systems into the chassis.

The issues involved are complex. Because costs of designing the vehicle integration are significant, product offerings from truck manufacturers are limited. Even a manufacturer that produces a natural gas product probably often offers only one vehicle model with a single natural gas engine as an option. By comparison, conventional vehicle manufacturers are able to offer many different products with several different engine options (and power ratings) per platform. More manufacturers need to expand their vehicle product lines and engine options.

To date, truck manufacturers typically install a given manufacturer’s engine into their chassis like they do the diesel engine from the same manufacturer. Given the reduced power density of natural gas engines and their lower efficiency, trying to integrate the engine into the chassis without redesigning the entire drive-train to match the performance of the natural gas engine can lead to less than desirable results — results that customers are not likely to accept. Conversely, proper design and integration of these engines into chassis can lead to excellent performance, as demonstrated by DOE’s efforts in the ultra-clean, ultra-safe natural gas school bus development project.

Similar issues arise when considering marine applications, but boat-building firms in the U.S. have even less experience with natural gas than do truck manufacturers. Except for the basic hull form, most vessels are more or less custom designed, allowing for the additional engineering required for the natural gas system to occur during the time of boat design and construction. In addition, most passenger ferries in the U.S. are built with significant federal support from the Department of Transportation (DOT). Important considerations to be included in the marine R&D plan are: 1) development of safety standards and operating procedures; and, 2) working with the Coast Guard to gain endorsement.

Manufacturers need to pre-design and engineer fully integrated natural gas packages into more chassis. Once these products are validated, manufacturers can list them in their product literature and accept orders from customers. Without these types of development programs, product options are only a possibility. With these programs, new products and sales can become reality.

2.3.1 Light-Duty Vehicles

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Some of the same issues mentioned above for heavy-duty vehicles also apply to light- duty vehicles. In the light-duty case, vehicle OEMs are the total system developers from engine to chassis integration. But the one-size-fits-all approach does not work for natural gas any better than it works for gasoline vehicles. While natural gas products are being sold, customers are still looking for additional engine, transmission, differential, and fuel storage options than those that are currently available.

2.4 FUELING INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

The cost of installing fueling infrastructure for CNG and LNG is expensive. CNG infrastructure costs are dominated by the cost of compressors, on-site fuel storage, dispensers, dryers and controls. LNG infrastructure costs are dominated by the cost of fuel storage, jacketed piping, transfer pumps, safety equipment, and dispensers. Because of these high costs, the growth of infrastructure expansion is tied directly to development of high-fuel use fleet applications. Further research is needed to reduce the cost of infrastructure hardware and improve the durability and reliability of fueling systems. Lower costs and better reliability and performance will permit faster market expansion. In many cases, customer concerns over available infrastructure need to be addressed before they contemplate purchasing NGVs. The specific five and ten year fueling infrastructure goals of the NGV industry are presented in Table 5.

Table 4: Three and Five Year Fueling Infrastructure Development Goals THREE-YEAR GOALS (2006) Five-YEAR GOALS (2008)  CNG compressor: <  CNG compressor: < $500/scfm $300/scfm  CNG 2 hose dispenser: <  CNG 2 hose dispenser: < $15,000 $11,000  CNG dryer: < $200/scfm  CNG dryer: < $150/scfm  LNG infrastructure: 25%  LNG infrastructure: 50% less less  LNG liquefier: <$60/gal  LNG liquefier: <$40/gal

2.4.1 CNG Infrastructure

There is a growing need for small-scale, cost-effective fueling technology. Many commercial and industrial businesses are interested in adopting NGVs, but do not want to make a large investment to build fueling stations. Smaller, cost effective systems will allow potential customers to add fueling proportional to their incremental fleet expansion. As a customer’s fleet grows to a sufficient size to justify a larger fueling system, the customer could sell the smaller scale system to another potential customer.

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The cost goals for small-scale systems are less than $750 per SCFM of compressor capacity in five years and less than $500 per SCFM capacity within 10 years. Small- scale systems can be as small as residential fueling appliances.

Additional research is needed to develop compressors for both conventional public- access stations and larger heavy-duty operations. Compressor durability and reliability need to be improved. Better controls are needed to reduce electrical operating costs and better manage vehicle fill operations. Typical three- and four-stage reciprocating compressors are expensive to service and maintain. Better materials and/or designs are needed to improve service and maintenance performance. Alternative compressor technologies (e.g., hydraulic compressors) need to be optimized for the cost and performance demanded by a rapidly expanding market. Natural gas infrastructure also needs to be evaluated in the context of an emerging hydrogen fueling need. Great potential exists to have ground-based hydrogen reformers at NGV stations to be able to dispense CNG or hydrogen.

Lower cost station peripherals (e.g. dryers and dispensers) also need to be pursued. Dispenser technology must be improved to communicate with the vehicle and compressor to make sure a full-fill is achieved. Communications protocols need to be standardized for all vehicles. Lower-cost metering (e.g., volumetric metering) also is needed.

2.4.2 LNG Infrastructure

In many cases, LNG infrastructure needs parallel those for CNG — lower cost, as well as improved durability, reliability and safety. LNG fueling station technology is relatively new (in comparison to industry experience with CNG) but offers great promise in being able to deliver fuel at much higher rates than CNG.

LNG technology has its roots in the aerospace and cryogenic gas businesses where specialty needs justify the relatively high cost of equipment. Lower cost versions of this technology are required to support adoption of LNG into fleets. Because of the cryogenic nature of the fuel, concerns about LNG system safety need to be addressed through advanced system designs. Before LNG can become a commercially viable fuel option for heavy-duty applications, safe dispenser systems capable of providing leak- free, publicly accessible fueling must be proven.

Pumping, metering and dispensing of LNG are complicated by the cryogenic nature of the fuel. Lower-cost systems are needed that are capable of performing through repeated fueling operations. In most LNG operations, LNG must be pumped from one location to another. Centrifugal pumps are inherently susceptible to cavitation. Industry objectives include development of cost-effective, reliable, lower negative pump suction head pumps that do not cavitate during LNG fueling.

LNG pumps are also needed for L/CNG operations (where LNG liquid is pumped to high pressure, then vaporized and dispensed as CNG). L/CNG is potentially a more cost-

11 Version 1 effective method of providing CNG than conventional multi-stage reciprocating compressors. L/CNG stations are free of the capacity limitations of conventional compressor systems and can greatly contribute to the major expansion of NGV infrastructure foreseen for the next 10 years.

In the area of LNG supply, there is a need for small-scale LNG liquefiers that can economically produce LNG at a cost comparable to larger-scale LNG facilities. In utility peak-shaving operations, LNG is produced in plants with 30,000 to 100,000 gallons per day capacity. This size of LNG operation is probably not cost-effective to provide economically viable LNG for the transportation sector. One has to go to much larger production operations (greater than 250,000 gallons per day) to be economically viable. The problem is that no fuel provider can afford to invest in large-scale LNG production without an existing viable LNG transportation fuel market. Therefore, for the near term, small-scale LNG liquefiers will allow fuel production to match incremental market expansion of LNG vehicles. There are many small-scale LNG production facilities proposed. These range from hundreds of gallons per day up to 10,000 gallons per day. The NGV industry endorses pursuing this technology through involvement with demonstration and optimization R&D activities.

2.4.3 Fuel Station Networking

The reasonable operating area over which natural gas vehicles can be used is limited by the number and location of open-access stations. The unavailability of fuel throughout a given geographic region is a major determinant in the growth of NGVs in that region. Furthermore, convenience of fueling stations is also a primary factor in acceptance of natural gas vehicles by industry and consumers. [Poorly worded]

Infrastructure expansion is limited by the large first cost of fueling stations and the inability of the vehicles currently in use to support their profitable operation. Electronic networking of existing fueling stations in a geographic region for both access and billing offers an opportunity to provide a virtual expansion of a geographical infrastructure with limited additional investment or risk.

Virtual expansion of the NGV fueling infrastructure through electronic networking of existing stations and establishment of a common access and billing system will significantly improve the operable range and convenience of use for natural gas vehicles. A few such networks currently exist in metropolitan areas, such as the FuelNet system in Atlanta, Natural Fuels’ network in Denver, and the State of Utah Fuels Network Initiative, which aims to develop a network of open-access stations at public and private locations, with multi-card reading functionality. Expansion of these networks and others into regional and corridor networks to expand the range of CNG NGVs will contribute significantly to the establishment of a self-sustaining NGV infrastructure.

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2.5 Advanced Technology Concepts

The NGV industry supports the immediate NGV developments as outlined above, but also has great interest in ensuring that natural gas is positioned and integrated into other advanced transportation technology vehicles, such as hybrid and, eventually, fuel- cell-powered vehicles, and establishing the infrastructure to meet the future needs of a hydrogen transportation sector.

Natural gas can be a better source of hydrogen for fuel-cell (and hydrogen-powered internal compression engine) vehicles than other petroleum-based fuels. With the current gas delivery and transmission system, natural gas can be delivered to nearly any location in the U.S. With onboard hydrogen storage, reforming natural gas into hydrogen at the fueling station is the best, most cost-effective option for the near- and mid-term.

Hybrid-electric natural gas vehicles also offer significant promise for clean transportation using a domestic fuel. Because of their inherently increased fuel economy, hybrids require less total fuel storage to achieve acceptable driving range per fill-up. This helps resolve two of the market barriers to NGVs – namely, reduced range and loss of truck space.

Yet a third advanced technology option is the use of a combination of natural gas and hydrogen in an internal combustion engine. Referred to as “HCNG,” combining hydrogen with natural gas reduces even further the amounts of NOx produced.

For all three of these technologies (hydrogen reforming of natural gas, hybrid-electric natural gas vehicles and HCNG systems, significant R&D on components is necessary followed by the need for accelerated platform development.

2.6 DEMONSTRATION, DATA COLLECTION, AND DEPLOYMENT

Developing the vehicle platforms alone is still not enough. There must be a mechanism to accelerate the introduction of these vehicles into the marketplace, i.e., deployment, and an effective feedback mechanism from the field to identify problems and redirect future RD&D programs.

Data collection helps define the requirements for the next generation of products. Field- testing and data collection activities provide potential suppliers, customers, and investors with the information they need to embrace new products like NGVs. Technology deployment demonstrates that research investments produce real value. Successful deployment of any new product into an already mature market is always a major challenge. Deployment activities such as the Clean Cities Program further support these efforts by getting products into use by the market leaders and innovators who ultimately will influence broader adoption into the marketplace.

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The primary goal of the NGV industry’s deployment effort is to support projects that develop new knowledge to help increase the sustainable use of natural gas as a transportation fuel and contribute to regional, whole-market NGV development. In order to achieve this goal, the following underlying objectives have been identified:

 Development of new knowledge that leads to a better understanding of NGV technologies and supporting infrastructure;  Integration of this new knowledge into a regional strategic plan for NGV market development;  Participation by a diverse and experienced team of committed NGV stakeholders;  Improve the understanding and utilization of NGV technologies and supporting infrastructure;  Promote widespread use of NGV technologies throughout the nation;  Advance the Clean Cities Program objectives of economic development, energy efficiency, safety, reliability, and environmental quality;  Focus on the Clean Cities network to further support the activities and public commitments made by Clean Cities partners to expand the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel.

NGV demonstration and deployment initiatives have benefits that are broadly dispersed among all consumers. These benefits include least-cost energy service, increased efficiency, enhanced safety, enhanced environmental quality and/or an increase in infrastructure reliability. Several existing federal programs provide funds for deployment activities that place more AFVs into service. These include programs such as CMAQ, State Energy Program Grants, Airport Initiative, Clean Air Act Initiative, and Green Energy Parks Initiative. Some of these programs are better than others for pursuing and advancing deployment activities.

The CMAQ program under TEA-21 provides the most potential funding ($1.5 billion). CMAQ is implemented at the local level through metropolitan planning organizations (MPO) and has traditionally been used for building high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, synchronized traffic lights, bicycle paths, and other transportation projects. Although the NGV industry has received minor benefit from the program, it has been on a “hit-or- miss” basis. In many cases, it has been impossible to convince Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to use CMAQ funds for incremental costs of vehicles versus road building-related programs.

The State Energy Program (SEP) grants offered by DOE contain another dilemma. These grants are used specifically for the deployment of AFVs, and have been very effective in deploying all alternative fuel vehicles. The levels of funding approved for this effort in FY ’02 and ’03 were woefully inadequate. For FY ‘04, the Administration has only requested about 55 percent of the FY ’02 and FY’03 approved funding for this effort.

More funding is desperately needed to accelerate the deployment of all NGVs.