[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 109 (Thursday, June 6, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38949-38950]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-14191]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Chicago Operations Office, Office of Transportation Technologies; 
Notice of Availability of a Financial Assistance Solicitation for 
Cooperative Agreement Applications for Advanced Liquid Natural Gas 
Onboard Storage Systems

AGENCY: Chicago Operations Office, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of solicitation availability.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces its interest in 
receiving applications for research and development in the area of 
Advanced Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) Onboard Storage Systems (ALOSS). This 
solicitation will be for Phase I applications only but will describe 
some aspects of possible Phase II awards as reference information. 
Phase I activities will provide laboratory proof-of-concept of an 
ALOSS. Tasks under this phase should cover: component and subsystem 
fabrication, setup of laboratory test stand, component testing, and 
pilot scale test of the ALOSS. Phase II activities, if awarded, will 
involve tank certification testing and road testing. (Phase I awardees 
will be eligible to compete for Phase II funding, which will be based 
on availability of funds, test data, design and market plan.) It is 
anticipated that the Phase I efforts will take place over a twelve 
month period under a cooperative agreement arrangement. DOE expects 
that one or two cooperative agreements will result from the 
solicitation. Total Government funding is expected to be approximately 
$500,000 for all Phase I awards combined. Successful applicants are 
required to cost share a minimum of 20% of the project cost. It is 
anticipated that award(s) as a result of the solicitation will be made 
in September of 2002. It is further anticipated that Phase II funding 
for this project will be available in the FY2003 budget.

DATES: The solicitation will be available on DOE's ``Industry 
Interactive Procurement System'' (IIPS) Web page located at http://e-
center.doe.gov on or about June 7, 2002. Prospective applicants are 
therefore advised to check the above Internet address on a daily basis. 
All applications must be submitted through IIPS in accordance with the 
instructions found in the solicitation and the IIPS User Guide, which 
can be obtained by going to the IIPS Secured Services site at http://e-
center.doe.gov under the ``HELP'' section of the website. Applicants 
must register in IIPS prior to submitting an application. Only 
registered users will have the capability to transmit their 
applications in a responsive matter. Applicants are strongly encouraged 
to register with IIPS as soon as possible prior to the application 
deadline. All applications must have an IIPS transmission time stamp of 
not later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the date specified in the 
solicitation, which is expected to be on or about July 10, 2002. 
Applicants are advised to begin transmission 24 hours in advance of the 
deadline in order to prevent any transmission difficulties.

ADDRESSES: The solicitation and any subsequent amendments will be 
published at the above mentioned Internet address. All applications 
shall be submitted through IIPS in accordance with the instructions 
provided in the solicitation.

[[Page 38950]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharon L. Donaldson, 630/252-0953.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The solicitation, when issued, will include 
a narrative scope of work, program requirements, qualification 
criteria, evaluation criteria, and other information. The purpose of 
this solicitation is to invite interested parties to submit an 
application for cost-shared cooperative agreements with the Department 
of Energy (DOE) for research and development of Advanced Liquid Natural 
Gas (LNG) Onboard Storage Systems (ALOSS) for natural gas vehicles. The 
solicitation is to accelerate research, development and testing of 
novel LNG storage technologies that would increase the vehicle's 
driving range, improve its efficiency and durability, and lower 
evaporative emissions and costs. The major barrier to using natural gas 
as a vehicle fuel is the problem of storing sufficient quantities of 
natural gas onboard the vehicle. The storage of natural gas in its 
compressed state (CNG) is viable for some vehicles, but does not meet 
the needs of most Class 7 and 8 trucks and buses. Since Class 7 and 8 
trucks and buses use nearly 40% of the country's transportation fuel, 
it is an important market sector to DOE's Office of Transportation 
Technologies. By using LNG, the storage problem can be solved. The 
storage of natural gas in its liquid rather than compressed state 
increases the driving range of a vehicle by 300%.
    The use of LNG introduces the complexity of dealing with a 
cryogenic liquid. This approach is not new, because the first LNG-
fueled buses used cryogenic pumps. However, the technology was later 
abandoned because of problems relating to durability, consistency of 
fuel delivery, and excessive vapor venting. In spite of the known 
problems of using LNG with cryogenic pumps, the benefits are sufficient 
to warrant revisiting its use. The goal of this solicitation is to 
reduce the overall complexity of LNG through the development of a 
simple and reliable onboard cryogenic pump.
    The benefits of using a cryogenic pump with low-pressure LNG 
storage are that it: increases usable fuel in the tank by 25%, 
eliminates the need for fuel conditioning, simplifies the operation of 
the refueling station, reduces the atmospheric venting of natural gas, 
reduces connector leaks, and has the ability to supply fuel to all 
types of natural gas engines from high pressure direct injected to 
aspirated. Some of the risks and/or challenges of using an onboard 
cryogenic pump include: keeping the pump cold at all times, durability, 
thermal management, meeting transient loads, redundancy, cavitation, 
and costs.
    This solicitation seeks a solution to the problems and challenges 
described so that the benefits noted above can be realized. DOE's long-
term goal is to improve LNG vehicles so that they capture a greater 
share of the transportation fuel market and thereby lessen U.S. 
dependency on imported oil.
    Once released, the solicitation will be available for downloading 
from the IIPS Internet page. At this Internet site you will also be 
able to register with IIPS, enabling you to submit an application. If 
you need technical assistance in registering or for any other IIPS 
function call the IIPS Help Desk at (800) 683-0751 or E-mail the Help 
Desk personnel at center.doe.gov">IIPS_HelpDesk@e-center.doe.gov. The solicitation 
will only be made available in IIPS; no hard (paper) copies of the 
solicitation and related documents will be made available.

    Issued in Argonne, Illinois, on May 20, 2002.
John D. Greenwood,
Assistant Manager for Acquisition and Assistance.
[FR Doc. 02-14191 Filed 6-5-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P