Partnerships & Collaborations

ORNL participates in several transportation-related collaborations with government and industry to advance America’s automotive industry.

U.S. Drive stands for Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle efficiency and Energy sustainability. It is a non-binding and voluntary government-industry partnership focused on advanced automotive and related infrastructure technology research and development (R&D). Specifically, the Partnership is a forum for pre-competitive technical information exchange among partners to discuss R&D needs, develop joint goals and technology roadmaps, and evaluate R&D progress for a broad range of technical areas. By providing a framework for frequent and regular interaction among technical experts in a common area of expertise, the Partnership:

  • Accelerates technical progress; peers in the technical community discuss pre-competitive, technology-specific R&D needs and challenges, identify possible solutions, and evaluate progress toward jointly-developed technical goals.
  • Helps to avoid duplication of efforts and ensure that publicly-funded research delivers high-value results and overcomes high-risk barriers to technology commercialization.

Government -industry collaboration on automotive R&D through the Partnership has evolved over time. From the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles in the 1990s to the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership in the 2000s, and to U.S. DRIVE today, the Partnership continues to benefit from diverse perspectives and unequivocal technical expertise that enable it to remain at the forefront of the changing world of automotive and related infrastructure technology development.

21st Century Truck Partnership accelerates America’s global competitiveness through the introduction of advanced truck and bus technologies that use less fuel, have greater fuel diversity, operate more safely and reliably, meet future emissions standards and are cost-effective. The program is pursuing dramatically improved fuel economy with near-zero emissions through advanced combustion engines, heavy hybrid drives, renewable fuels and other vehicle improvements.

ORNL also has an aggressive program designed to provide technology-based solutions to organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies to academic institutions. Underlying this philosophy is the belief that strong partnerships with U.S. industry are the best way to share technological know-how with the private sector. Regardless of the activity—executing a license, entering into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) or Work for Others (WFO) agreement, or interacting with an industry or university through other means—ORNL is committed to outcomes that create win-win opportunities for the external organization as well as the laboratory.

For more information about any of ORNL partnering mechanisms or to discuss other ways to conduct business with the laboratory, please contact:

Partnerships
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Bldg. 4500N, MS 6196
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6196
Phone: 866-221-2527 (toll free)
Email: partnerships@ornl.gov
www.ornl.gov/partnerships