Purpose
This program is aimed at developing new, cost-effective,
environmentally sound materials and process technologies to
enable the U.S. transportation industry to be more energy
efficiency through vehicle weight reduction. Lightweight
materials have been identified as necessary for the
Department of Energy-Energy
Efficiency (DOE-EE) programs in electric and hybrid
vehicles, assisting those technologies by allowing use of
smaller, and therefore lower cost, battery and drive
systems, as well as providing broader options in the design
of the overall vehicle "package." An important part of this
program is Environmental, Safety, and Health (ES&H)
implication of new materials through the life-cycle of the
materials and applications.
Background
Consumer preferences have limited the downsizing options
available to automakers, and safety and performance
standards have resulted in a very limited ability to reduce
weight further with conventional materials. With 75% of
vehicle gas (energy) consumption directly related to factors
associated with vehicle weight, the potential benefits of
weight reduction enable smaller powerplant (engine, turbine,
fuel cells, etc.) and energy storage (battery, flywheel,
etc.) systems, with corresponding cost and/or performance
benefits. In all cases, the safety and crashworthiness of
lighter weight vehicles is a significant consideration, as
well as other ES&H issues associated with new materials
and process technology.
Materials technologies to enable production of safe and
cost-effective lightweight vehicles have been identified as
critical to reducing fuel consumption in conventionally
powered automobiles and light trucks. In addition,
lightweight materials technology is critical to the success
of electric and hybrid vehicles. Legislative actions,
1)Clean Air Act Amendments, 2)California Air Quality
Standards (also adopted by several other states), 3)the
National Energy Policy Act, and potential new corporate
average fuel economy (CAFE) standards, have resulted in
increased emphasis on electric, hybrid, and alternatively
fueled vehicles, as well as increased emphasis on improved
fuel economy of conventional vehicles.
The DOE Office of
Transportation Technologies has strongly supported
several programs that have been initiated with cost sharing
from the auto industry to accelerate the development of
production vehicles meeting all applicable federal standards
and legislative goals. The program has an integral element
of interaction with the United States Automotive Materials
Partnership (USAMP), and has initiated cost-shared R&D
on polymer composites, aluminum, metal matrix composites,
and joining. The Partnership for a New Generation of
Vehicles relies critically on lightweighting of their
vehicle platforms, and USAMP is the industry partner for
technical development under PNGV.
Technical areas of research currently being performed in
partnership wiht USAMP can be found at
http://www.uscar.org/techno/lwmats.htm http://www.uscar.org/techno/lwmats.htm
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