New Plan for California’s Investments in Alternative Fuels and Vehicles

The California Energy Commission has approved a new plan for investing in alternative fuel and vehicle technology. The Energy Commission provides up to $100 million annually for technology to reduce the state’s reliance on fossil fuels, curtail greenhouse gases and meet clean air standards.



Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles are responsible for about 23 percent of on-road greenhouse gas emissions. Under the 2016-17 Investment Plan Update, investments in technology for these vehicles will increase by $3 million to $23 million. The boost in funding will support the California Sustainable Freight Action Plan, and may foster intelligent transportation systems, autonomous vehicles and specialized refueling, such as higher voltage chargers for heavy-duty electric trucks.

These projects, funded through the Energy Commission's Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP), reduce the state’s reliance on petroleum and helps California with its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emission to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

The Sustainable Freight Action Plan will establish targets, policies and programs to improve freight efficiency, transition freight vehicles to clean-air technologies and keep the state’s freight system competitive.

The Energy Commission is also exploring emerging opportunities such as producing hydrogen from renewable power sources. Some hydrogen refueling stations already use electrolysis to produce 100 percent renewable hydrogen in modest volumes. Renewable hydrogen potentially could be used to store surplus renewable energy and to produce large volumes of hydrogen as a transportation fuel or to inject in pipelines.

For more about the new investment plan and the ARFVTP, click here.