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14 February 2008
USA CALLS FOR 40% IMPROVEMENT
IN CAFE FUEL ECONOMY BY 2020
The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE),
first regulated in the USA in 1975 in response to the fuel crisis
of that time, defines the target fleet fuel consumption for new
vehicles in USA. The CAFE standard is administered by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in response to targets
set by Congress with respect to technology, economic and energy
conservation needs.
In December 2007, President George W Bush signed
into law the Clean Energy Act of 2007, which requires in part that
automakers boost fleetwise gasoline mileage to 35 mpUSgal for both
light trucks and passenger cars by 2020, mandating an improvement
in the overall (passenger car + light truck) fleet fuel economy
by 40%.
This is the first major improvement in the
USA passenger car fuel economy requirement since the early 1990's
and reflects the response to the ever increasing cost of gasoline
and the need for reduction in CO2 and other greenhouse emissions.
To incentivise development for alternative
fuel vehicles the CAFE uses a "Fuel Content" Multiplier
to reflect the actual gasoline content used. As an example, for
an E85 fuelled vehicles (85% Ethanol, 15% gasoline), a 15 mpUSgal
vehicle would be rated at 40 mpUSgal.
The Orbital FlexDi system "One engine
- any fuel" is well suited to support the requirement for improved
fuel economy and reduced CO2. Recent work and publications confirm
the capability of the FlexDI system to support the full range of
alcohol and gaseous fuels, in addition to gaseous fuels such as
CNG and LPG.
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