About California Hybrid, Efficient and Advanced Truck (CalHEAT) Research Center
The California Hybrid, Efficient and Advanced Truck (CalHEAT) Research Center, sponsored by the
California Energy Commission, will be a California-based resource for research,development, demonstration and commercialization of advanced, efficient truck technologies and systems. The CalHEAT Research Center will establish partnerships of diverse stakeholder groups to develop overall research and a market transformation plan and to facilitate that plan's implementation.
Background
Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles are critical to the economy, yet remain a real and growing energy and carbon challenge as yet insufficiently addressed. This segment accounts for a significant portion of petroleum use state and nationwide, and particularly on a per-platform basis, due to high per-vehicle fuel use.
Medium- and heavy-duty on-road truck traffic serving urban and goods movement needs combined with heavy-duty off-road vehicle use at distribution centers and ports, contribute significantly to fuel use, poor regional air quality, and are a sizable source of greenhouse gas emissions.
Purpose
The purpose of CalHEAT is to develop a guide for research and development of hybrid and efficient advanced truck technologies and systems to better understand the status, existing gaps, and their in-use performance as well as implement a market transformation plan to better understand the market barriers to widespread commercialization.
Until now, there has not been extensive research conducted to develop a comprehensive study of the many hybrid and efficient advanced clean truck technologies and systems that are in the market or are close to commercialization and an understanding of the gaps which require further research. Nor has anybody conducted a practical market study showing what is needed to commercialize these truck technologies and systems and where the market needs exist for them. This has made it difficult for manufacturers and suppliers to focus limited time and resources on research, development and commercialization of promising technologies and systems. It also makes it difficult for states like California to make intelligent choices and provide sufficient funding of these technologies as states attempt to reduce petroleum use and emissions from vehicles using cleaner technologies and systems.
Goals
The CalHEAT Research Center will pursue the followingactivities:
- Develop a roadmap for research and market transformation for activities through 2020. This effort will support of California’s goals of reducing petroleum, emissions and carbon in medium and heavy duty trucks. The roadmap will consist of actionable steps involving a variety of technologies such as more efficient drive trains and hybrids, engine downsizing, more efficient auxiliary systems and other technologies that lead to commercialization.
- Demonstrate the use of a high efficiency advanced technology Class 8 truck in an application such as regional delivery or port drayage. CalHEAT will also demonstrate an electric plug-in parcel delivery truck, analyze its performance and infrastructure requirements, as well as evaluate long- and short-term grid requirements.
- In addition, CalHEAT will perform a Market Barrier Analysis on the combination of alternative fuels and high efficiency hybrid technologies.
Get involved
Contact
Fred Silver to learn more or to get involved with the CalHEAT Research Center.
Download the
About CalHEAT Fact Sheet.
This project funded by the California Energy Commission and implemented by CALSTART.