$2.5MM for USDOT Climate and Transportation Research Initiative
Written by Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor
“We’re proud to support construction technology that helps communities build transit projects more quickly,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Oct. 3 announced a funding opportunity to establish the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Climate and Transportation Research Initiative funded at $2.5 million for the first year.
This funding, USDOT says, supports a partnership between the Department and a university or other eligible organizations to “conduct research advancing solutions to the Nation’s climate and transportation challenges.”
According to USDOT, the Climate and Transportation Research Center will “advance research and technologies to support the Nation’s clean energy goals, strengthen the resilience of the Nation’s transportation infrastructure, and address environmental impacts created by the transportation system.”
The funding opportunity will fund a university or nonprofit and at least one partner organization for $2.5 million in year one, and up to $2.5 million in years two and three, subject to availability of funds. The partnership can be renewed for a total of five-years, totaling $12.5 million, subject to availability of funds.
Universities currently focused on rail research include the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Delaware and Michigan State University.
“In the past few months alone, Americans from Vermont to Hawaii have faced the devastating impact of so-called ‘once-in-a-century’ disasters that are now becoming more frequent, more deadly, and more destructive to our economy than ever,” said Buttigieg. “As we face the profound and urgent threat of the climate crisis, we need cleaner transportation systems, and this investment will help deliver that by harnessing research and technology to find new solutions.”
“When it comes to climate change and transportation, research and technology have a lot to bring to the table,” said Dr. Robert C. Hampshire, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology and Chief Science Officer. “This unprecedented funding opportunity will help us advance climate solutions for the entire transportation sector.”
An informational webinar on the USDOT Climate and Transportation Research Initiative will be held on Oct. 27, 2:30-4 pm ET. Click here to register.
