DOE expands partnerships with energy companies and automakers
U.S. Department of Energy announced U.S. DRIVE, a partnership with industry to accelerate the development of energy-efficient technologies for cars and light trucks and the infrastructure needed to support them.
Tesla Motors and Electric Power Research Institute join U.S. Department of Energy, automaker research teams and energy companies to accelerate the development of new energy-efficient technologies for cars and light trucks and the infrastructure needed to support them.
According to the DOE, the collaborative effort formerly known as FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership, is now U.S. DRIVE--Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle efficiency and Energy sustainability. The goal is to beef up research and development of not only new vehicle technologies, but to also work on a broad range of energy infrastructure technologies.
"Government-industry partnerships like U.S. DRIVE can quicken the pace at which affordable, fuel-efficient vehicles reach and succeed in the commercial market," said U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu. "By bringing together the best and brightest in government and the automobile, electric utility, and fuels industries, we can develop promising, innovative technologies that move rapidly from the lab into cars on the road, along with the infrastructure to support them."
U.S. DRIVE includes United States Council for Automotive Research (the collaborative research company for Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Company, and General Motors), Tesla Motors, BP America, Chevron Corporation, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil Corporation, Shell Oil Products US, DTE Energy, Southern California Edison, and the Electric Power Research Institute.