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Featured at Obama speech, Sleek SuperTruck saves fuel, money

Posted at 11:59 am April 2, 2014
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

David Koeberlein SuperTruck Cummins Engine

David Koeberlein, director of advanced engineering for Cummins and principal investigator on the SuperTruck project, says the prototype tractor-trailer uses exhaust heat that would otherwise be wasted to help power the crankshaft. (All photos courtesy ORNL/Genevieve Martin unless indicated otherwise)

Note: This story was last updated at 2 p.m.

Tractor-trailer prototype uses probe developed by ORNL for better gas mileage, cleaner exhaust

It’s a sleek, aerodynamic freight-hauling machine. With its wide tires, rounded edges, and body parts that hug the ground, this million-dollar prototype looks like it could be at home on a race track.

It’s already achieved celebrity status, serving as the backdrop for President Barack Obama during a February speech on greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency standards.

But the SuperTruck is more likely to end up hauling meat and potatoes from Boise to Boston.

SuperTruck at ORNL

The fuel-efficient SuperTruck, the result of a four-year collaboration between the trucking industry and the federal government, made a pit stop at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Tuesday.

Still, researchers have reason to celebrate. On Tuesday, they said the high-tech tractor-trailer has increased fuel efficiency by 75 percent. Fully loaded, the SuperTruck can drive 10.7 miles on a gallon of gas. That compares to an industry average of 5.8 to 6.5 miles per gallon.

“This is a really big deal,” said Claus Daniel, deputy director of sustainable transportation projects at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where the SuperTruck made a pit stop on Tuesday.

It’s the result of a collaboration between the trucking industry and the U.S. Department of Energy. It’s not clear how soon the new technologies tested in the Cummins/Peterbilt tractor-trailer, which was built in Denton, Texas, will show up on the nation’s highways. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, College, Education, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Science, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Barack Obama, Bergstrom, Bill Partridge, catalysis, Claus Daniel, Cummins, David Koerberlein, diagnostic probe, DOE, emissions, energy independence, exhaust gas, exhaust heat, fairing, freight efficiency, fuel, fuel efficiency, fuel efficiency standards, Goodyear, greenhouse gas emissions, Jim Parks, Modine, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, oil consumption, ORNL, Peterbilt, Purdue University, skirts, SuperTruck, sustainable transportation, thermal efficiency, truck, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Xpress, Vehicle Technologies Office, waste heat recovery

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Public Notice: Comment period extended for Draft EA for Lithium Processing Facility at Y-12

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Availability of the Final Environmental Assessment for the Oak Ridge Enhanced Technology and Training Center (ORETTC) (DOE/EA-2144), Finding of No Significant Impact, and Wetland Statement of Findings

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