The American Transportation Research Institute has announced the selection of three project teams to demonstrate and evaluate mobile idle reduction technologies on heavy-duty trucks. The demonstration is being funded as part of a grant program administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Transport Partnership to help promote technologies that save fuel while also reducing pollution.
The year-long data collection effort will document engine idle times with and without the use of the selected idle reduction technologies. ATRI expects the successful demonstration and evaluation of these technologies to provide truck owners with a better understanding of the costs and benefits associated with their use.
The selected project teams will be led by the following trucking companies:
Diversified Transfer and Storage (DTS) – Headquartered in Billings, Mont., DTS provides truckload and less-than-truckload services throughout the United States. DTS will be evaluating an auxiliary power unit (APU) manufactured by RigMaster Power Corp.
National Freight Inc. (NFI) – Headquartered in Vineland, N.J., NFI provides nationwide truckload, over-the-road, dedicated, intermodal, brokerage and specialized transportation services. NFI will be evaluating an APU manufactured by Teleflex Energy Systems.
Schneider National Inc. – Headquartered in Green Bay, Wis., Schneider National provides nationwide truckload services, including one-way, intermodal, dedicated, bulk and specialized service. Schneider National will be evaluating two separate air conditioning systems, a Bergstrom 12-volt system and a Webasto thermal storage system, operated in conjunction with a Webasto cab heater. 
