Navistar picked to develop 'Super Truck'

Warrenville-based Navistar announced it will receive more than $37 million in federal funding to partner with the U.S. Department of Energy to pioneer new fuel efficiency and emissions-reducing technologies.

The goal of the project is to develop a "Super Truck" featuring a 50 percent improvement in fuel efficiency.

Through the project, Navistar will be developing and demonstrating technologies to improve truck and trailer aerodynamics, combustion efficiency, waste heat recovery, hybridization, idle reduction and reduced rolling resistance tires.

Currently, the transportation sector accounts for 28 percent of total U.S. energy use.

With more than 80 percent of the nation's diesel fuel consumed by heavy-duty on-highway Class 8 trucks, the DOE's development of a "Super Truck" has big energy-saving potential as well as significant environmental benefits, the company said.

As these vehicle technologies are adopted broadly across the country, they could save more than 100 million gallons of gasoline and diesel per day, and reduce carbon emissions from on-road vehicles by 20 percent by 2030.