DE-FOA-0003353 Request for Information (RFI) Off-Road Sector Decarbonization.pdf

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. EERE will not pay for information provided under this RFI and no project will be supported as a result of this RFI. This RFI is not accepting applications for financial assistance or financial incentives. EERE may or may not issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) based on consideration of the input received from this RFI.

EERE DE-FOA-0003353: Request for Informa�on (RFI)

Progression of Net-Zero Emission Propulsion Technologies for the Off-Road Sector

DATE: 5/7/2024

SUBJECT: Request for Information (RFI)

Description In September 2022, the U.S. Departments of Energy, Transporta�on, Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protec�on Agency executed an historic memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the signatory agencies to accelerate our na�on’s affordable and equitable clean transporta�on future.1 As a result of the comprehensive decarboniza�on strategy called for in the MOU, those agencies issued the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, which set the goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in the transportation sector – including off-road equipment – by 20502. The Transition to net-zero emission technologies requires coordination among all aspects of the supply chain, including feedstock supply, alternative fuel production, equipment manufacturers, safety implementation, customer demand, and government regulation. To develop a national strategy to decarbonize the sector, three critical questions must be addressed:

1. What is the current state of the off-road vehicle fleet?

2. Which powertrain technologies are most promising for decarbonization of off-road vehicles?

3. What is the timeline for the off-road sector to transition to net-zero emission GHG technologies?

The MOU defines off-road vehicles as: vehicles that are primarily designed to operate away from exis�ng roadways. This category contains a disparate and diverse set of vehicles and use cases, including construc�on and mining equipment, industrial equipment, agriculture equipment, lawn and garden equipment, and recrea�onal vehicles.1

The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to understand the off-road sector alternative propulsion technology preferences, which technologies seem most promising, and what are the key barriers to achieving the transition to net-zero emissions by 2050. The propulsion technologies under consideration for this RFI are: biodiesel, renewable diesel, renewable natural gas, battery electric, direct electrification (catenary), electric hybridization, hydrogen fueled internal combustion engines and hydrogen fuel cells. Currently, no one alterna�ve propulsion technology is a clear choice for sector decarboniza�on. This RFI is an attempt to aggregate knowledge from stakeholders to help guide actions regarding future propulsion technologies, research and infrastructure investments, and coordination among key

1 htps://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/mou-doe-dot-epa-hud-final_09-15-2022.pdf https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/mou-doe-dot-epa-hud-final_09-15-2022.pdf https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/mou-doe-dot-epa-hud-final_09-15-2022.pdf

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. EERE will not pay for information provided under this RFI and no project will be supported as a result of this RFI. This RFI is not accepting applications for financial assistance or financial incentives. EERE may or may not issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) stakeholders to ensure that the off-road sector is meeting or exceeding U.S. decarbonization milestones.

Background The United States Government, including the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has established ambitious goals to address global climate change and is committed to work with industry to formulate and implement robust and actionable decarbonization plans. DOE is tasked with understanding the decarbonizing propulsion technologies landscape and overcoming barriers to innovation and adoption of decarbonizing propulsion technologies. The Biden-Harris Administration has committed the United States to economy-wide decarbonization by 2050, including both ambitious domestic action and sustained international leadership. Recognizing that 10% of domestic transportation greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from the off-road sector, the U.S. must do more to bend the emissions trajectory from the sector. The MOU addressing transporta�on decarboniza�on among DOE, the Department of Transporta�on, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protec�on Agency intends to bring together public and private partners to accelerate ac�on in decarboniza�on.

Due to the long lifespan of off-road equipment, in order to enable sector decarbonization by 2050, the domestic fleet will require commercially available, net-zero carbon life cycle (cradle-to-grave) fuels and equipment beginning in the near-term. Thus, an ambitious alliance is required among the private sector, research institutes, and regulatory entities to develop, demonstrate, and deploy net-zero emission equipment options and infrastructure together by 2030. One of the first actions outlined in the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization is to identify and set ambitious decarbonization milestones for the off-road sector.

Purpose The purpose of this RFI is to aggregate knowledge from stakeholders to help guide actions regarding future propulsion technologies, infrastructure requirements, and coordination among key stakeholders to ensure that the sector is meeting or exceeding U.S. decarbonization milestones. DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is specifically interested in information on the off-road sector stakeholders’ current alternative fuels trajectory, the driving forces behind it, and the key barriers to achieving this transition.

Disclaimer and Important Notes This RFI is not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), therefore, EERE is not accepting applications at this time. EERE may issue a FOA in the future based on or related to the content and responses to this RFI, however, EERE may also elect not to issue a FOA. There is no guarantee that a FOA will be issued as a result of this RFI. Responding to this RFI does not provide any advantage or disadvantage to potential applicants if EERE chooses to issue a FOA regarding the subject matter. Final details, including the anticipated award size, quantity, and timing of EERE funded awards, will be subject to Congressional appropriations and direction.

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. EERE will not pay for information provided under this RFI and no project will be supported as a result of this RFI. This RFI is not accepting applications for financial assistance or financial incentives. EERE may or may not issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)

Any information obtained as a result of this RFI is intended to be used by the Government on a non-attribution basis for planning and strategy development. This RFI does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals or abstracts. Your response to this notice will be treated as information only. EERE will review and consider all responses in its formulation of program strategies for the identified materials of interest that are the subject of this request. EERE will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred in responding to this RFI. Respondents are advised that EERE is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this RFI.

Responses to this RFI do not bind EERE to any further actions related to this topic.

Confidential Business Information Pursuant to 10 CFR 1004.11, any person submitting information that he or she believes to be confidential and exempt by law from public disclosure should submit via email two well-marked copies: one copy of the document marked “confidential” including all the information believed to be confidential, and one copy of the document marked “non-confidential” with the information believed to be confidential deleted. DOE will make its own determination about the confidential status of the information and treat it according to its determination.

Evaluation and Administration by Federal and Non-Federal Personnel Federal employees are subject to the non-disclosure requirements of a criminal statute, the Trade Secrets Act, 18 USC 1905. The Government may seek the advice of qualified non-Federal personnel. The Government may also use non-Federal personnel to conduct routine, nondiscretionary administrative activities. The respondents, by submitting their response, consent to EERE providing their response to non-Federal parties. Non-Federal parties given access to responses must be subject to an appropriate obligation of confidentiality prior to being given the access. Submissions may be reviewed by support contractors and private consultants.

Request for Information Questions Please provide your responses to the following ques�ons, in as much detail as possible. The RFI also includes a Fleet Summary Worksheet (atached and op�onal), which is not required for response submissions but may be a more convenient way to answer the General Ques�ons.

General Questions:

1. How many pieces of your company’s equipment do you estimate are currently active in the field? Please specify by machine type and/or power level, if possible.

2. What is your company’s estimated annual fleet turn-over rate for different types of active machines?

3. What are the typical daily or annual hours of operation for machines in your company’s portfolio?

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. EERE will not pay for information provided under this RFI and no project will be supported as a result of this RFI. This RFI is not accepting applications for financial assistance or financial incentives. EERE may or may not issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)

4. What is the annual energy consumption (by gasoline, diesel, hydrogen, Liquified Petroleum Gas/Natural Gas, or electricity separately) of your machines in the field?

5. How many million metric tonnes (MMT) GHG tailpipe emissions annually do your active machines produce?

6. Based on your knowledge of the proposed decarbonization technologies for your sector, how do you view them for consumer adoption in a) 2035 and b) 2050?

• Technologies Iden�fied: Batery electrifica�on, Hybrid-electric, Hydrogen fuel cells, Hydrogen Internal Combus�on Engines (ICEs), Net-zero carbon fueled ICEs (biofuels and e-fuels), Catenary or tethered equipment

7. What role does fuel efficiency play in your company's decarboniza�on strategy? If any, what are your company’s near-term (before 2030) plans to improve fuel efficiency?

Please share any efficiency forecast in your decarboniza�on plans.

Decarbonization Questions:

8. What product decarbonization plans does your company envision to be feasible by 2035? By 2050? If plans exist, what are the barriers to their implementation?

9. Where does your company see limitations of decarbonizing technologies (e.g., power demand, uptime, energy storage volume/weight, etc.?) Please provide an estimate of current technology readiness level for these in your operation:

• Batery electrifica�on

• Hybrid-electric

• Hydrogen fuel cells

• Hydrogen ICEs

• Net-zero carbon fueled ICEs (biofuels and e-fuels)

• Catenary or tethered equipment

10. Within what �me frame will your equipment be compa�ble with neat Biodiesel, Renewable Diesel, or Ethanol and what barriers exist currently?

11. Other than drop-in biofuels, what other liquid or gaseous fuels do you anticipate in the new sales fleet? By when? What propor�ons of new sales will run on these alterna�ve liquid or gaseous fuels?

12. How important is refueling/recharging time to your operation? If downtime is increased due to refueling/recharging, how much would be considered acceptable? Is there opportunity in your scheduling to accommodate longer downtimes?

13. How should resale value be considered in the path towards decarbonization?

Defini�ons

• Up�me: total �me equipment was available to perform work

• Down�me: �me spent wai�ng for equipment to become available (examples include:

charging and refueling, repairs, and maintenance)

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. EERE will not pay for information provided under this RFI and no project will be supported as a result of this RFI. This RFI is not accepting applications for financial assistance or financial incentives. EERE may or may not issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)

• Batery electric vehicle: A vehicle exclusively powered by electric motors which are supplied energy from a batery. The batery may be permanent or exchangeable and all opera�ng voltage op�ons are considered.

• Hybrid-electric vehicle: A vehicle which has both a batery electric system and conven�onal internal combus�on engine. Both series and parallel configura�ons are considered.

• Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle: A vehicle powered by hydrogen fuel cells, bateries, and electric motors.

• Hydrogen ICE vehicle: A vehicle with an internal combus�on engine fueled by hydrogen

• Net-zero carbon fuels: Fuels for an ICE developed from feedstocks other than direct petroleum refinement that are net-zero GHG. These include green fuels produced from captured CO2 and electricity (e.g., renewable diesel/gasoline), agricultural/forestry feedstocks (biodiesel/ethanol), and green hydrogen, such as:

• Catenary or tethered: Equipment powered primarily by electricity from either direct mains or catenary/induc�ve connec�on. It may include smaller bateries for short-term opera�on off-grid.

Request for Information Response Guidelines Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to CleanMachines@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00p.m. (ET) on June 7, 2024. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email. It is recommended that attachments with file sizes exceeding 25MB be compressed (i.e., zipped) to ensure message delivery. Preferred responses should be provided as a Microsoft Word (.docx) (10 page limit) and/or Microsoft Excel (.xslx) attachments to the email. If necessary, a plain text file (.txt) may be submitted. Only electronic responses will be accepted. Please identify your answers by responding to a specific question or topic if applicable. Respondents may answer as many or as few questions as they wish.

EERE will not respond to individual submissions nor publish publicly a compendium of responses. A response to this RFI will not be viewed as a binding commitment to develop or pursue the project or ideas discussed. Respondents are requested to provide the following information at the start of their response to this RFI:

• Company / institution name;

• Company / institution contact;

• Contact's address, phone number, and e-mail address;

• Primary business purpose (e.g. farming, mining, construc�on, etc.);

• Primary region(s) of opera�on (if applicable);

• Urban, Rural, or Remote

• Loca�on(s) across the US

• Type of business: OEM/Supplier, Private Fleet, Commercial Fleet, Government Fleet, Rental Fleet, or Other (please specify).

mailto:CleanMachines@ee.doe.gov