As technology continues to advance for electrification of light-duty vehicles and other applications, significant challenges remain for decarbonization of the heavy duty on-road, off-road, rail, marine, and aviation transportation and defense sectors. Low-carbon solutions are needed for both retrofits and new powertrain architectures.
To help navigate the transition from fossil fuels to more sustainable options, ORNL researchers are working to solve end-use challenges for a wide range of net-zero carbon fuels in these hard-to-electrify applications. Fuels of interest include hydrogen; hydrogen carriers or synthetic fuels such as methanol and ammonia; and biofuels.
The work is targeting net-zero carbon and near-zero pollutant emissions to help the US reach its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
This research is sponsored by the Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office, Bioenergy Technologies Office, Advanced Manufacturing Office, ARPA-E, and the US Department of Transportation.