VTO GO! Newsletter

How did you get into your area of work? 

Mike Laughlin: I have been interested in cars since I was very young. As a mechanical engineering student, I worked for a year at a supplier to the automotive industry in the co-op education program. When I moved to the DC area, I was able to use this automotive experience to secure a position at a contractor to VTO’s predecessor, the Office of Transportation Technologies, and have stayed part of the VTO family.

Bernadette Jackson:  I worked at the Treasury Department for a year, then applied to DOE under Transportation Technologies Office.

Alycia Gilde: I have always had a deep passion for protecting the environment and our communities. Following two years in Ghana, West Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I was fortunate to return home to support the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection with its first diesel school bus retrofit project. Though early in the years of transportation decarbonization, I became fascinated with the potential technical solutions and partnerships to advance clean transportation. From overseeing the nation's largest clean freight truck programs, leading multi-state coalitions for clean corridors, administering multi-million-dollar vehicle and infrastructure state incentive programs, to leading communication campaigns and partnerships, my breadth of impact has varied. Now as we head toward a zero-emission transportation future for all, I am committed to collaborating with industry, communities and government to address barriers with solutions and accelerate the pace of adoption. 

Delphine Protopapas: Growing up in New York City, I have always been interested in the impact infrastructure systems have on our lives, especially transportation and its impact on the environment and public health. I also enjoy the physics and problem solving involved in engineering. I declared a major in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a minor in Urban Planning so I could learn both the technical and policy skills I needed to work on meaningful infrastructure projects. I've interned at both an engineering firm and local government and nonprofit planning organizations, and when I learned about DOE's EERE office and VTO, I knew interning here would be an amazing opportunity to work at the synthesis of technical and policy strategy on electric vehicle charger deployment.

How long have you been at VTO/DOE? 

Mike Laughlin: I have been with VTO for 5 years as a federal employee and was a contractor for 25 years prior to that. All of my time with DOE has been with VTO and its predecessors FCVT and OTT.

Bernadette Jackson: 38 years. 

Alycia Gilde: I started with the U.S. Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Office on February 27, 2023.

Delphine Protopapas: One month.

What is the best thing about your work at VTO?

Mike Laughlin: It is a privilege to work with a group of such dedicated and knowledgeable colleagues at VTO who are all pushing for the same goal of more sustainable transportation. Plus, it’s great that I have translated my personal interest in cars into a career with such high potential impact.

Bernadette Jackson:  The work that I do.  My colleagues are like family.  I enjoy interacting with the Labs and with other Administrators within EERE.  

Alycia Gilde: Bringing together inclusive, collaborative, and innovative first-of its-kind public-private partnerships to advance transportation decarbonization through zero-emission freight corridors, port and airport electrification, rental car EV fleets, workforce development, and community and Tribal engagement.

Delphine Protopapas: I enjoy working with (and learning from) people from such a wide set of career backgrounds between industry, academia, and government. Each person brings unique insights and skills as well as a passion for climate and energy issues, making up a very effective team at a time when efficient deployment is key.

What can you share about your involvement with DOE/VTO-related issues over the years? 

Mike Laughlin: I’ve been fortunate in being able to see activities from early in my career turn into impactful successes for VTO and the nation. I have been part of Clean Cities and Communities since it was just 5 cities and two federal staff members in a small out-of-the-way office at DOE HQ to where it is now, celebrating 30+ years and 75 coalitions. I’ve been a co-author on a number of important analytical publications, dating back to the EPAct 1992 Section 506 report on meeting the fuel displacement goals of that legislation through to the recent medium-duty/heavy-duty corridor strategy. I have been part of many such examples of VTO turning ideas into successful programs.

Bernadette Jackson:  Supporting the new hires with getting up to speed with everything they will need to get their job done.

Alycia Gilde: I have always been a huge champion for the great work and people of VTO. Before joining DOE, I was fortunate to be a grant recipient for multiple projects and collaborated closely with DOE on partnerships like the Global Memorandum of Understanding for Zero-Emission Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles. 

Delphine Protopapas: My VTO-related work has been focused on Vehicle-Grid Integration, specifically creating a set of case studies on real-world examples of optimizing charging infrastructure for quick and affordable installation around the country. I've also been researching EV charging infrastructure policy in Europe for the DAS-T office, which can provide helpful context for planning charger deployment in the US.

What are your hobbies? 

Mike Laughlin: In keeping with the automotive theme, I have a small collection of old cars (1980s-1990s, so “old” is debatable) that I maintain and take to local car shows. My wife and I are also frequent golfers with friends.

Bernadette Jackson:  Going to the movies, roller skating, and concerts.

Alycia Gilde: I love being in nature, listening to classical music, going to art museums, trying new foods and spending time with my loving family, friends, and colleagues.

Delphine Protopapas: In my free time, I enjoy singing with my college acapella group, reading historical fiction books, and riding my bicycle around different cities.

If you are looking to join our team, please go to /eere/vehicles/vehicle-technologies-office-careers. 

VTO has multiple open vacancies, including: 

• Materials Program Manager (GS-15; Washington, DC)
  The Materials Program Manager provides technical expertise to office leadership in support of program planning pertaining to lightweight structural and powertrain materials for vehicles. 
• Analysis Technology Manager (GS-12; Washington, DC)
  The Analysis Technology Manager will serve as a technical expert in data-driven, advanced transportation technology models, tools, and analyses to investigate critical questions and create insights about energy use and other relevant metrics.
• Electrification Technology Manager (GS-13; Washington, DC)
  The Electrification Technology Manager will serve as a technical expert in vehicle charging technologies, vehicle-grid integration, electric-drive systems, powertrain and other related technologies.
• Technology Integration Deployment Manager (GS-13; Washington, DC)
  The Analysis Technology Manager will serve as a technical expert in data-driven, advanced transportation technology models, tools, and analyses to investigate critical questions and create insights about energy use and other relevant metrics.

In the News

Congratulations, Alycia!

Our VTO colleague, Alycia Gilde is embarking on an exciting new assignment. In July, Alycia began a detail at the White House Climate Policy Office to lead their transportation portfolio as Senior Director for Transportation. 

Alycia joined VTO in February 2023 with the Technology Integration Team where she brought her extensive leadership experience to bear as the National Manager for ZEV Partnerships and Engagement. In this role she collaborated with other EERE offices and national laboratories to develop and implement public-private partnerships to advance transportation decarbonization through zero-emission freight corridors, port and airport electrification, rental car EV fleets, workforce development, and community and Tribal engagement. 

We look forward to supporting Alycia in her new role and wish her all the best.

SuperTruck 2 Hits the Road

The SuperTruck project features trucking efficiency solutions resulting from U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) public-private partnership with Heavy-Duty engine and truck manufacturers. This opportunity to harness the creativity of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers to push the envelope of truck design was embraced by five teams led by Cummins Inc. & Peterbilt, Daimler Truck North America (DTNA), Volvo Trucks, Navistar, and PACCAR Inc. 

DOE funded the first SuperTruck project in 2010 to demonstrate a system of new technologies with the goal of greatly improving freight energy efficiency, reducing vehicle operating costs and improving environmental sustainability. The highly successful demonstrations led to DOE funding the even more aggressive SuperTruck 2 program beginning in 2016.

VTO Director Austin Brown is one of the experts featured in a video discussing the results of this effort at NACFE | SuperTruck 2: Empowering Future Trucking.

Vehicle Technologies Leaders View New National Capability at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

In June, VTO Director Austin Brown and Deputy Director Sarah Ollila visited Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Their tour included a stop to see PNNL’s Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing facility and the Grid Storage Launchpad. This new, national capability funded by DOE’s Office of Electricity will enable researchers and collaborators to accelerate next-generation vehicle and grid battery technologies enabling transportation electrification, and a reliable, resilient electric grid for a cleaner tomorrow. 

Events

Past Events

2024 VTO Annual Merit Review: June 3-6, 2024

The 2024 VTO Annual Merit Review (AMR) was held at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia. During the AMR Plenary on June 3rd, DOE’s Dr. Geraldine (Geri) Richmond, Under Secretary for Science and Innovation, provided opening remarks about DOE leadership’s vision and VTO presented its annual awards. 

At the AMR, advanced vehicle technologies projects funded by VTO are presented and reviewed for their merit. The objective of the meeting was to review the accomplishments and plans for VTO over the previous 12 months, and provide an opportunity for industry, government, and academia to give inputs to DOE with a structured and formal methodology. The AMR allows VTO to continuously improve its approach to investments.

Each year, VTO presents awards to individuals from partner institutions for contributions to overall program efforts and to recognize research, development, demonstration, and deployment achievements in specific areas. Learn more about the 2024 awardees.

Presentations from the 2024 AMR are available on the VTO website. Historical AMR presentations are available on the VTO AMR Presentations Database. 

The 2025 AMR will be held June 2-5, 2025, at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia. Keep an eye out for more information on the AMR website.

VTO Funding Opportunities and Selections

Stay up to date on VTO’s funding opportunities at energy.gov/eere/vehicles/funding-opportunities.

Open Funding Opportunities:

Biden-Harris Administration Opens Applications for $1.3 Billion in Funding to Continue Expanding National Electric Vehicle Charging Network

On May 30, 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration opened applications for a historic $1.3 billion funding opportunity for EV charging and alternative-fueling infrastructure in urban and rural communities and along designated highways, interstates, and major roadways. This is the largest single grant funding opportunity for EV charging in the nation’s history and it will accelerate public and private investment in clean transportation in the places where people live, work, and play.

This funding opportunity is made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s signature EV charging investments: the $2.5 billion Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program and funds from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program that are set aside for strategic grants to states and local governments to deploy EV chargers. Supported by unifying guidance and technical assistance from the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (Joint Office), the CFI program is administered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and is open to state, regional, Tribal, and local government entities. Learn more on the Joint Office’s website.

Coming Soon:

DOE Announces a Notice of Intent for the SuperTruck Charge Funding Opportunity

On April 25, 2024, DOE announced a notice of intent to fund projects that would provide innovative research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) of concepts for delivering charging solutions for trucks. The opportunity also supports approaches for load management and delivery of grid services that alleviate grid capacity challenges at charging installations for medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles. The SuperTruck Charge program will focus on demonstrating technologies to accelerate the widespread buildout of the charging infrastructure necessary for battery electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks.

DOE Announces Notice of Intent for Fiscal Year 2024 Vehicle Technologies Office Batteries & Electrification Funding Opportunity Announcement

On June 3, 2024, DOE announced an intent to fund projects that will advance research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) in several areas critical to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transportation sector. The potential funding will drive innovations in low-cost electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing, using inexpensive and abundant battery materials in support of a viable domestic materials supply chain, and conducting smart-charge management demonstrations. This potential funding is aligned with strategies detailed in the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization. 

Stay tuned for updates about VTO’s funding opportunities on VTO’s website.

Interested in Becoming a VTO Project Reviewer? 

VTO is always looking for subject matter experts to review research funding applications. If you would like to become a VTO reviewer, apply directly on the EERE Funding Opportunity Exchange Registration web page.

Other Vehicle Funding Opportunities and Selections

Stay up to date on DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy funding opportunities at /eere/funding/eere-funding-opportunities, and Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chain funding opportunities at /mesc/funding.

Selections:

On May 16, 2024, DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) announced $27 million for 10 projects as part of the Silicon Solar Manufacturing and Dual-use Photovoltaics Incubator funding program.

On June 17, 2024, DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions announced $41.4 million in federal funding for 50 impactful projects across 17 National Laboratories to propel clean energy solutions. The funding is made available through the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) Base Annual Appropriations Core Laboratory Infrastructure for Market Readiness (CLIMR) Lab Call. 

VTO’s three selected TCF projects are:

• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and GE Aerospace, Advancing Detailed Jet Engine Simulation with Small, Accurate Kinetic Models and GPU Solvers
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Energy-Transit Nexus Tools for Bus Fleet Electrification (NEXTBUS)
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Rapid High Temperature Carbonization (HTC) Through Metal Bath

Learn more about projects selected in the FY 2024 CLIMR Lab Call. 

On July 9, 2024, DOE announced $14 million for two projects funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to increase consumer battery recycling and create a more sustainable domestic supply chain. Managed by DOE’s Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains Office (MESC), the selected projects will provide over 1,000 collection points across the country for spent batteries from consumer projects, allowing consumers easy and free access to turn in old batteries and battery-containing devices and reduce e-waste. These projects are in addition to the $62 million announced on March 24, 2024 for 17 projects funded by the BIL to increase consumer participation in consumer electronics battery recycling and improve the economics of battery recycling. This funding, which will be administered by VTO and MESC, supports goals and targets detailed in the Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries’ (FCAB) National Blueprint for Lithium Batteries. 

Learn more about these projects selected and this funding opportunity.

Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition Winners

In May, the Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions (AVTC) announced winners of its in-progress student competitions. 

On May 10, 2024, DOE announced the Colorado School of Mines & Arapahoe Community College team as Battery Workforce Challenge Year One Champion. The BattChallenge is an elite public-private partnership and North American collegiate engineering competition sponsored by DOE, Stellantis, and it is managed by Argonne National Laboratory. The BattChallenge began in 2023 and features 12 North American university engineering teams, each partnering with a local community college. 

On May 23, 2024, DOE announced the Ohio State/Wilberforce University Team as the EcoCAR EV Challenge Year 2 champion. The EcoCAR EV Challenge is a cross-disciplinary competition among 15 North American universities designed to build an EV talent pipeline and is managed by Argonne National Laboratory and sponsored by DOE, General Motors, and MathWorks.

Learn more about the 35-year history of the AVTC. 

Clean Cities and Communities Corner

New Partnership Principles Foster Strong Coalitions

Clean Cities and Communities (CC&C) reaffirmed its commitment to fostering strong partnerships by adopting new partnership principles. These principles are embodied in how coalitions conduct their work—fostering deep collaboration and building long-term relationships.

New Jersey Clean Cities Coalition exemplified the importance of long-term commitments in their efforts to implement an electric ride share program in Trenton, New Jersey. This program—GoTrenton!—provides transportation options for people living in underserved communities, many of whom lack access to a personal vehicle. The ride share launched in fall 2023 after several years of perseverance and groundwork by the coalition to build trust and gain buy-in from local leaders. In the first few months of operations, GoTrenton! provided more than 1,100 rides, serving more than 1,600 passengers. 

“This project helped us drill down to demonstrate how Clean Cities and Communities coalitions can also help underserved communities with day-to-day needs,” said Chuck Feinberg, Executive Director of the New Jersey Clean Cities Coalition.

Read the partnership principles on the partnership website and learn more about this DOE partnership to advance clean transportation nationwide. Connect with your local coalition to access the expertise, resources, and tools you need to strategically advance clean transportation in your community.

CC&C Internship Moves to New Name: Accelerate!

After 14 years, the Clean Cities University Workforce Development Program is now Clean Cities and Communities Accelerate, or simply 'Accelerate’. The new name, associated with vehicles and forward motion, highlights our dedication to catalyzing the growth and professional development of a workforce that will support the advancement of our nation’s environment, energy security, and economic prosperity.

One that note, Accelerate is currently collecting student applications for the upcoming fall semester, with an application deadline of August 4, 2024. This paid internship is open to undergraduate and graduate students from all majors and institutions. For more information, please see the Accelerate website.

Beep for Success

Help with Summer Travel

Summer travel continues to be really hectic. Are you hitting the road? According to AAA, for instance, more than 38 million people traveled by car during the 2024 Memorial Day weekend.

With more people buying and renting electric vehicles (EVs), more drivers will need to know how to find and use EV charging stations. If this includes you, Energy Saver has you covered!

The Alternative Fuels Data Center Station Locator can help you plan your trip or find stations while on the road. Just download the app.

There’s also a new page on how to charge an EV takes you step by step through the charging process so you’ll know exactly what to do and what you need when you pull up to the station.

Publications

2023 VTO Annual Merit Review Results Report

The 2023 VTO Annual Merit Review (AMR) was held June 12-15, 2023, as a hybrid event with in-person and virtual attendance. The review encompassed work done by VTO, including 257 individual activities that were reviewed by 266 reviewers. Exactly 991 individual review responses were received for the VTO technical reviews. The results from the review are contained in the AMR Results Report.

EVs@Scale Fiscal Year 2023 In Review

Learn more about how the Electric Vehicles at Scale (EVs@Scale) national laboratory consortium is accelerating the transition to an electric fleet in the Electric Vehicles at Scale Laboratory Consortium Fiscal Year 2023 in Review Report.

Argonne National Laboratory: Unlocking the Mystery behind the Performance Decline in a Promising Cathode Material

Scientists have discovered the culprit behind the performance fade in nickel-rich cathodes for lithium-ion batteries. The team’s new analysis method was key to the discovery. Read more about the research published in Science.