DOE EERE’s RFI: Advancing Net-Zero Emission Propulsion for the Rail Sector

Please see the full Request For Information (RFI) document at EERE-Exchange.energy.gov.

The U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization set the goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in the transportation sector – including rail – by 2050. This transformation requires coordination among all aspects of the rail supply chain including feedstock supply, alternative fuel production, locomotive engine manufacturers, safety implementation, customer demand, and government regulation.

To set domestic rail on an ambitious net-zero emission trajectory, commercially viable, well-to-wheel net-zero emission line-haul locomotives are needed in the domestic fleet by 2030. Thus, an ambitious alliance is needed between the private sector, research institutes and regulatory entities to develop, demonstrate, and deploy net-zero locomotives and infrastructure together by 2030 to make net-zero propulsion the natural choice for railroads. The propulsion technologies under consideration for this RFI for transitional, interim use until 2030 are: biodiesel, renewable diesel, ammonia, methanol, hydrogen fueled internal combustion engines, and ethanol. The technologies under consideration for this RFI for mid- to long-term use are: hydrogen fuel cells, batteries (tenders or built-in), and direct electrification (catenary), or a combination of different technologies. Each alternative propulsion technology comes with its own set of regionally sensitive advantages and disadvantages.
The purpose of this RFI is to aggregate knowledge from rail stakeholders to help direct actions regarding future propulsion technologies, infrastructure requirements, and coordination among key stakeholders to ensure that the rail 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 rail sector stakeholder’s current alternative fuels trajectory, the driving forces behind it, and the key barriers to achieving this transition.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to GreenRail@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on February 12th, 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. Responses must be provided as a Microsoft Word (.docx) attachment to the email, and no more than 15 pages in length, 12 point font, 1 inch margins. Only electronic responses will be accepted.

This is solely a request for information and not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). EERE is not accepting applications.

Please see the full RFI document at EERE-Exchange.energy.gov.

The U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization set the goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in the transportation sector – including rail – by 2050. This transformation requires coordination among all aspects of the rail supply chain including feedstock supply, alternative fuel production, locomotive engine manufacturers, safety implementation, customer demand, and government regulation.

To set domestic rail on an ambitious net-zero emission trajectory, commercially viable, well-to-wheel net-zero emission line-haul locomotives are needed in the domestic fleet by 2030. Thus, an ambitious alliance is needed between the private sector, research institutes and regulatory entities to develop, demonstrate, and deploy net-zero locomotives and infrastructure together by 2030 to make net-zero propulsion the natural choice for railroads. The propulsion technologies under consideration for this RFI for transitional, interim use until 2030 are: biodiesel, renewable diesel, ammonia, methanol, hydrogen fueled internal combustion engines, and ethanol. The technologies under consideration for this RFI for mid- to long-term use are: hydrogen fuel cells, batteries (tenders or built-in), and direct electrification (catenary), or a combination of different technologies. Each alternative propulsion technology comes with its own set of regionally sensitive advantages and disadvantages.
The purpose of this RFI is to aggregate knowledge from rail stakeholders to help direct actions regarding future propulsion technologies, infrastructure requirements, and coordination among key stakeholders to ensure that the rail 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 rail sector stakeholder’s current alternative fuels trajectory, the driving forces behind it, and the key barriers to achieving this transition.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to GreenRail@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on January 12th, 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. Responses must be provided as a Microsoft Word (.docx) attachment to the email, and no more than 15 pages in length, 12 point font, 1 inch margins. Only electronic responses will be accepted.

This is solely a request for information and not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). EERE is not accepting applications.

Please see the full RFI document at EERE-Exchange.energy.gov.