Department of Energy

  • A slide from the 2011 Merit Review presentation

    Over the past couple of years we’ve been reporting about a new engine concept where a small amount of ethanol is injected directly into a cylinder chamber before combustion along with a blast of gasoline. The burning of ethanol has the positive side effect of cooling the combustion chamber, and when combined with the fuel’s higher octane rating, much higher compression ratios can be run, the end result being diesel-like economy from a gasoline engine. Now Chrysler, along with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is investigating a similar concept but where diesel fuel is injected...

  • Google and DOE map of alternative fuel locations
    Need To Charge Your Electric Car? There's A Google Map For That

    Despite the best efforts of some in the auto industry to keep electric cars off the roads, they're back. Given the current state of technology, the EV's revenge will likely be slow and steady, but most experts agree that electrics are the future of transportation. There are, however, several...

  • 2009 Fisker Karma
    Fisker Gets $528 Million From DOE For U.S. Production

    The Fisker Karma will be built at a new facility called Project NINA.

  • U.S. Capitol Hill
    House passes bill to double DOE fuel-efficient vehicle fund to $50 billion

    Former president Bush signed the $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program into life last year, but for the past 8 months, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has sat on the money, carefully evaluating applications to see which companies would make the best use of the...

  • tesla model s prototype 005
    U.S. DOE announces $8 billion in loans for fuel-efficient vehicles at Ford, Nissan and Tesla

    President Bush signed the $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program into life last year, but for the past 8 months, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has sat on the money, carefully evaluating applications to see which companies would make the best use of the funds...

  • Chrysler ENVI electric vehicle fleet
    Chrysler unveils $448 million electric vehicle plan

    Chrysler today submitted three proposals outlining a $448-million plan to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in order to rapidly bring electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid models to market. The proposals were submitted in order to receive two initiatives established by the DOE - the Electric...

  • Chrysler Town & Country electric van concept

    Chrysler may be on the brink of bankruptcy but that hasn't stopped the company from trying to claw its way back into the now burgeoning electric market - with the help of the U.S. Postal Service. This week the company showed off four all-electric Chrysler Town & Country minivan concepts, which it hopes will help its application for federal grant from the Department of Energy's 'Transport Electrification' stimulus program. Should Chrysler win this grant, it hopes to establish a nationwide demonstration fleet of zero-emissions minivans that could be used by the U.S. Postal Service for mail...

  • Department of Energy crest
    Department of Energy's $25 billion fuel-efficient vehicle fund still untapped

    Last November, the Department of Energy issued interim rules for the use of a already-approved $25 billion loan package earmarked for the construction of more fuel-efficient vehicles. But now, almost five months later, there has still been no disbursement of the funds. Over 75 applications for the...

  • 2008 nissan nuvu concept 001
    Nissan pursuing U.S. federal loans for EV program

    The past several weeks have been tough ones for Nissan, facing the closure of its Michigan design studio, a forecast loss of $2.6 billion and the cutting of 20,000 jobs worldwide. Nevertheless it is still making plans for the future, and electric vehicles (EVs) figure heavily in those plans. To...

  • Tesla Roadster
    Tesla will be forced to delay Model S sedan without federal loan

    Fledgling electric car company Tesla Motors has encountered financing problems recently, prompting the firm to apply for a $400 million aid package from the Department of Energy. The electric sports carmaker has now revealed that without the loans the introduction of its Model S sedan will have to...

  • Department of Energy crest
    U.S. Department of Energy shoots down $16B in Detroit requests

    Even as America's carmakers plead their case before the U.S. Congress today, the executive branch has rejected $16 billion in grant requests through the DOE's retooling program. The rejection came in the form of a letter to the carmakers earlier this week from Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. Of the...

  • Tesla Roadster
    Tesla Motors applies for $400 million government aid

    Fledgling electric car company Tesla Motors has encountered financing problems recently, prompting the firm to apply for a $400 million aid package from the Department of Energy. The DOE has already approved a $25 billion loan package designed to help American manufacturers create more efficient...

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