Institute for Transportation Decarbonization issues call for research proposals on drop-in fuels

The Institute for Transportation Decarbonization announced Oct. 11 a new grant to deepen understanding of the role of low-carbon liquid fuels in decarbonizing legacy on-road vehicles and reducing the climate impact of the transportation sector.

ITD is a nonprofit research organization dedicated to developing a pathway to a zero-carbon transportation sector through research and engagement.

The institute will issue one to two awards to compelling submissions, with individual awards of up to $20,000 to be spent over a three-month period to support policy engagement around an applicant’s existing research.

“We must address the vehicles that are on the road today, or we risk worsening environmental and public-health impacts for decades,” said Kelly Fleming, a senior fellow at the institute. “Low-carbon liquid fuels are an available tool for immediate reductions in transportation emissions, but much is still unknown about how to best deploy this technology to maximize public health and climate benefits.”

In order to achieve the Biden administration’s science-based goal of reaching 100 percent of emissions reduction from the transportation sector by 2050 in order to avert the worst impacts of climate change, significant progress must be made to address the high-emitting internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles that are on the road and will continue to be driven for decades to come.

Researchers from universities, national laboratories or nonprofit organizations may apply for financial support for policy analysis, stakeholder engagement, or related efforts to understand the impacts of available drop-in fuels on emissions, public health, the domestic economy and decarbonization.

ITD is especially interested in research prioritizing:

• The improvement of public health in communities disproportionately impacted by transportation emissions

• The reduction of emissions from the legacy ICE fleet, including sustainable agriculture, carbon capture and the role of eFuels

• The scale-up of the deployment of drop-in fuels through reduced cost barriers, production and distribution

• And understanding priority uses of drop-in fuels to maximize public health and economic benefits

More information can be found online in the ITD Call For Proposals: Drop-in Fuels for Legacy Fleet Vehicles.

Founded in 2022, ITD is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization 501(c)(3) supported by Community Initiatives working to accelerate a 100 percent greenhouse-gas emissions reduction in the United States transportation sector by 2050.

ITD focuses on research and analysis of viable decarbonization pathways for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles, as well as the freight, aviation and maritime networks, to prioritize reducing pollution and carbon emissions through the acceleration of clean-energy technologies and policies.