The Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) has announced up to $32 million in funding for 10 innovative projects under its new program, Next-Generation Energy Technologies for Connected and Autonomous On-Road Vehicles (NEXTCAR). The initiative aims to reduce individual vehicle energy usage by 20 percent by leveraging the increasingly complex and connected systems in modern vehicles.
Connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technology utilizes onboard or cloud-based sensors, data, and computational capabilities to help vehicles better process and react to their surroundings. This could include information about stop signs, intersections, nearby vehicles' actions, and congested areas. While CAV technologies primarily enhance vehicle safety and driving convenience today, NEXTCAR projects will focus on reducing vehicle energy use.
"Today cars and trucks are increasingly being outfitted with new technology that provides information about the vehicle’s environment, mostly to make them safer and to help drivers with basic tasks," said ARPA-E Director Dr. Ellen D. Williams. "As our vehicles become creators and consumers of more and more data, we have a transformative opportunity to put that new information to the additional use of saving energy in our road transportation system."
NEXTCAR technologies aim to co-optimize interactions between vehicle dynamic controls, such as accelerator and braking input, and powertrain controls managing engines, motors, and transmissions. Efficiency-boosting solutions like smarter cruise control, vehicle speed harmonization, or energy-saving options for approaching traffic signals are examples of what these technologies could achieve. By integrating these systems with data from emerging CAV technologies, vehicles will be able to predict future driving conditions and events.
If successful, NEXTCAR technologies are expected to improve the energy efficiency of future connected and automated vehicles by at least 20 percent beyond other planned efficiency improvements. ARPA-E encourages applicants to explore every available option through this open-ended goal.
Examples of selected NEXTCAR projects include:
University of Minnesota – Minneapolis, MN: The team seeks to improve medium-duty delivery vehicles' energy efficiency through real-time powertrain optimization using two-way vehicle-to-cloud (V2C) connectivity. The project aims for intelligent eco-routing by optimizing battery state of charge and engine operating strategy based on external data like traffic and weather.
Purdue University – West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University's project focuses on heavy-duty diesel trucks with a multi-pronged approach including transmission and engine optimization; efficient maintenance using look-ahead information; cloud-based remote engine recalibration; cloud-based control; and efficient truck platooning. These strategies will be evaluated through simulations, development phases, and real-world testing.
Further details on the NEXTCAR program can be found here along with specifics on all 10 projects.
