Wednesday, January 21, 1998
2:00 - 4:00 p.m., 628 Dirksen Senate Office Building

You are invited to a briefing discussing some of the recent breakthroughs in vehicle technologies and how these rapid advancements could affect current federal policy goals and legislative initiatives in 1998.

The vehicle technology world is undergoing an unprecedented transformation. For more than one hundred years, the overwhelming majority of vehicles have run on gasoline- or diesel-powered internal combustion engines. However, new technologies and fuels are beginning to work their way into the marketplace, from advanced electric vehicles to hydrogen-powered fuel cells and hybrid-powered vehicles.

New vehicle technologies can help address national goals for air quality, reduced reliance on imported oil and decreased greenhouse gas emissions. Policies affecting these goals involve an array of funding sources, regulations and public/private partnerships, including:

• The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). CMAQ currently provides $1 billion annually for air quality improvement with approximately 10 percent of this amount used for alternative fuel vehicles. ISTEA reauthorization was not completed in 1997 and has been carried over into 1998.

• The administration's budget request for fiscal 1999 and the associated annual appropriations bills will include research, development and demonstration (RD&D) of advanced vehicle technologies including fuel cells, hybrid vehicles and advanced batteries. A major program is the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) -- the public/private partnership between the federal government and the American automakers to produce a marketable production car with three times today's average fuel economy.

• Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, currently at 27.5 mpg for cars and 20.7 mpg for light trucks.

• New ozone and particulate air quality standards pursuant to the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.

• Oil displacement goals and alternative fuel vehicle purchase requirements in the Energy Policy Act of 1992.

• The international climate agreement negotiated in Kyoto, Japan this last December.

The briefing offers policymakers and the media the opportunity to learn more about recent advances in vehicle technology, how these advances can help meet environmental goals and policy options to further advances. As Congress makes policy decisions in 1998, it will be important for legislators to understand the new potential for clean and efficient vehicles.

The briefing will present views from leading experts in the fields of new technologies, automotive trends and government initiatives. Panelists include:

• Robert Stempel, chairman, Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. and former chairman and CEO of General Motors;

• Tom Gross, director, Office of Transportation Technologies, U.S. Department of Energy;

• Dan Sperling, director, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis;

• Sheila Lynch, director, Northeast Alternative Vehicle Consortium;

• Richard Klimisch, vice president, Engineering Affairs Division, American Automobile Manufacturers Association.

This briefing is part of a series EESI is holding on vehicle technologies. The briefing is free and open to the public with no reservations required. For more information, contact Michael Chelius at 202-662-1885.