NPGA is very pleased to share a recent announcement by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) whereby six (6) projects focused specifically on propane are among those that have been awarded funding in the agency’s vehicle technologies research area. These six projects total over $9 million in research funding dedicated to the propane industry from DOE for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. The Areas of Interest (AOI) under which these projects were awarded include:
- AOI 05: Improved Efficiency of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Natural Gas and Propane (LPG) Engines
- AOI 13: Alternative Fuel Proof-of-Concept in New Communities and Fleets
- AOI 15: Technology Integration Open Topic
To view the propane projects within these areas of interest, click here.
This funding is a result of strong collaborative efforts between NPGA and PERC, who worked together on identifying the industry’s research needs, which ultimately enabled NPGA to share these priorities with the appropriate federal legislators.
The collaborative efforts between our two organizations have continued to yield positive results as the House Appropriations Committee recently approved all four of NPGA’s recent requests for FY 2021 appropriations funding in the Committee’s Energy & Water Appropriations bill. The industry requests included in the bill focused on vehicle engine technology, micro-CHP, micro-grids and renewable LPG.
The Senate is currently focused solely on legislation related to COVID-19 relief, and it is unclear if it will pass a new Appropriations package before the end of this fiscal year (September 30) or if it will simply seek a continuing resolution. Nevertheless, the fact that we were able to secure report language for funding in four different areas of propane industry research in a Democratic-majority House of Representatives bodes well for future research opportunities.