US “SuperTruck” effort demonstrates 50% vehicle-efficiency gains in heavy truck fleet trials
Wed 11 June 2014
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Interim progress reported by four truck industry consortia participating in the US DoE-sponsored R&D program shows that industry is on track toward efficiency goals—putting 10+ mpg average tractor-trailer fuel economy clearly within sight.
The tractor-trailer with “10.7 MPG” stenciled on the side that provided the backdrop for President Obama’s February 2014 speech committing to new fuel-economy standards for heavy-duty vehicles was one of the early successes of a public-private collaboration sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy to develop and demonstrate advanced-technology, energy-efficient “super trucks.”
A new comparative analysis has been prepared by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), an independent research group.
The most recent interim progress reports from the four industry teams participating in the SuperTruck program shows all to be on or ahead of schedule in reaching the program’s technology R&D and vehicle-efficiency goals: a 50% increase in overall tractor-trailer freight efficiency and a 20% increase in engine efficiency. With the typical semi, or Class 8 tractor-trailer, on the road today averaging 6–7 miles per gallon, that rate of progress puts the industry on a path to exceed 10 mpg not just with an advanced-technology demonstration vehicle but in real-world commercial freight-hauling conditions.
According to DoE estimates, the efficiency gains envisioned by the SuperTruck program could translate into 300 million barrels of oil saved annually.
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