Bringing you a prosperous future where energy is clean, abundant, reliable, and affordable

Significant Savings Potential

• America’s highway transportation 

is 97 percent dependent on oil, a

growing portion of which is imported.3

• Oil imports—a major component of

the balance of trade accounts—are

projected to account for more than

$170 billion of our nation’s trade deficit

by 2020. 

• Reducing highway oil use has more

potential to improve the nation’s

energy security than any other

action. 

• The fastest growth in oil use is

projected in light trucks (including

pickups, vans, and sport utility

vehicles) and heavy vehicles 

(including trucks and buses). 

• Given the enormous amount of 

motor fuel used each year, even a

one percent improvement in vehicle

fuel efficiency would save consumers

about $2 billion annually.

U.S. Department of Energy • Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Protecting Our Transportation Freedoms

Toward a New Energy Scenario

Today, America imports more than half

of the oil we consume, much of it for

transportation use.1 Unless action is

taken, the historical trend toward

increasing dependence on foreign oil will

continue. In fact, the percentage of oil

imports is projected to rise to 62 percent

by 2020.

How can our nation change this

scenario? Vital answers are being

provided by the long-term research,

development, and demonstration

(RD&D) efforts conducted by the U.S.

Department of Energy’s FreedomCAR 

and Vehicle Technologies Program. The

Program pursues advanced technologies

for cars, light trucks, and heavy vehicles

that will reduce oil use, with a focus on

RD&D activities that industry views as

too high-risk or uncertain to pursue on 

its own. The Program also addresses 

the introduction of technology, and

includes legislative rulemaking and

implementation as required by the

Energy Policy Act. 

FreedomCAR Partnership

The Program has a central role in the

FreedomCAR Partnership, announced 

in January 2002 by Energy Secretary

Abraham and executives from

DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Company,

and General Motors. Through the

Partnership, DOE and the automakers 

are investing in fundamental, high risk

research and development that will open

the way to entirely new ways to power

tomorrow’s vehicles. Special emphasis is

on development of fuel cells and

hydrogen infrastructure technologies—

technologies that can meet our nation’s

transportation needs using virtually

limitless, reliable, and domesticallyproduced energy that is free from

harmful emissions. 

The FreedomCAR Partnership,

undertaken with the U.S. Council for

Automotive Research, supersedes and

builds on the successes of the Partnership

for a New Generation of Vehicles

(PNGV), which began in 1993.

FreedomCAR2 shifts government research

to more fundamental, higher risk

activities, with applicability to multiple

passenger vehicle models. 

1 Transportation currently accounts for 69 percent of U.S. oil consumption.

2 The C-A-R in FreedomCAR is an acronym for Cooperative Automotive Research.

3 The total U.S. transportation sector, including aviation, is 95 percent dependent on oil.
FreedomCAR supports transportation

freedoms for the United States: freedom

from petroleum dependence; freedom

from pollutant emissions; freedom for

citizens to choose the vehicles they want

and need; and freedom to obtain fuel

affordably and conveniently. The

Partnership is being jointly implemented

with DOE’s Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and

Infrastructure Technologies (HFCIT)

Program. To complement the

FreedomCAR partnership, President Bush

has announced a Hydrogen Fuel

Initiative, a new national commitment 

to move hydrogen fuel cell cars from the

laboratory to the showroom. The concept

is simple yet profound—create automotive operating systems that run on

hydrogen rather than gasoline. The

groundbreaking plan will transform our

nation’s energy future, as we shift from

hydrocarbon-based energy supplies to

hydrogen-based power. Activities dealing

with transportation-related fuel cells and

hydrogen infrastructure are funded by

the HFCIT Program, while the balance 

of R&D activities, and Partnership

direction and support, are funded by 

the FreedomCAR and Vehicle

Technologies Program.

Furthering Vehicle Technologies

Along with FreedomCAR activities, other

areas of RD&D addressed by the Program

include vehicle systems; simulation and

validation; hybrid and electric propulsion

including energy storage and power

electronics; advanced engine technologies

including combustion and emission

control; development of cost-effective

propulsion and lightweight materials, 

and materials-manufacturing processes;

advanced petroleum-based fuels and 

non-petroleum fuels and lubricants.

Another initiative of the Program is the

21st Century Truck Partnership. Through

this partnership, the heavy-duty truck

and bus industry and major Federal

agencies are working cooperatively on

technologies to make our nation’s trucks

safer, cleaner, and more efficient.

Industry and government partners have

developed a common vision: our nation's

trucks and buses will safely and costeffectively move larger volumes of freight

and greater numbers of passengers while

emitting little or no pollution and

dramatically reducing the dependency on

foreign oil. Ultimately, the Partnership

seeks safe, secure, and environmentally

friendly trucks and buses that use

sustainable and self-sufficient energy

sources, enhancing America’s global

competitiveness.

Although the primary focus of the

FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies

Program is on long-term RD&D,

collaboration with vehicle manufacturers

and suppliers is emphasized, so that the

technologies can be commercialized as

efficiently as possible. For example, the

Program supports highly-trained, highlyeducated technical staffs and user facilities

through the DOE laboratories, providing

the automotive community with expertise 

for unbiased testing and evaluation of its

products and technologies.

Protecting Our Transportation Freedoms

For more information, visit www.eere.energy.gov/vehicle.html or call 1-800-DOE-3732

A Strong Energy Portfolio 

for a Strong America

Energy efficiency and clean,

renewable energy will mean a

stronger economy, a cleaner

environment, and greater energy

independence for America. Working

with a wide array of state, community,

industry, and university partners, the

U.S. Department of Energy’s Office 

of Energy Efficiency and Renewable

Energy invests in a diverse portfolio 

of energy technologies.

March 2003

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