H.R. 8609 — Vehicle Innovation Act of 2026

This section establishes nine objectives for the vehicle technology program at the Department, including developing technologies to improve fuel efficiency and emissions of all vehicles produced in the United States, supporting domestic research and manufacturing of advanced vehicles and components, enabling vehicles to move larger volumes of goods and passengers with less energy and emissions, developing cost-effective technologies for passenger, commercial, government, and transit sectors, shortening technology development cycles, and strengthening partnerships between Federal and State agencies and the private and academic sectors.

This section directs the Secretary to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that activities authorized by this Act do not duplicate those of other programs within the Department or other relevant research agencies.

This section authorizes appropriations to the Secretary for research, development, engineering, demonstration, and commercial application of vehicles and related technologies in the United States, including $313,567,000 for FY2027, $326,109,000 for FY2028, $339,154,000 for FY2029, $352,720,000 for FY2030, and $366,829,000 for FY2031.

This section directs the Secretary to submit to Congress, not later than 18 months after enactment and annually thereafter through 2031, a report on technologies developed under the Act, with emphasis on successful commercial adoption and whether resulting products are manufactured in the United States. The section also requires the Secretary to submit to the relevant congressional committees of jurisdiction, at the end of each fiscal year through 2031, an annual report describing activities undertaken, active industry participants, the status of public-private partnerships, progress in meeting program goals and timelines, and a strategic plan for funding activities across agencies.

This section directs the Secretary to conduct a program of basic and applied research, development, engineering, demonstration, and commercial application activities on materials, technologies, and processes to substantially reduce petroleum use and emissions from U.S. passenger and commercial vehicles. The program covers 31 specified areas, including electrification of vehicle systems, batteries and other energy storage, hydrogen vehicle technologies and infrastructure, natural gas vehicles, lightweighting, advanced internal combustion engines, and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications. It also requires continued support for mid- to long-term transformational technologies, maximum practicable industry participation through public-private partnerships, and coordination among relevant Department programs.

This section directs the Secretary to carry out a program of cooperative research, development, demonstration, and commercial application activities on advanced technologies for medium- to heavy-duty commercial, vocational, recreational, and transit vehicles, in partnership with other Federal agencies and industry stakeholders. The program addresses 24 specified areas, including engine efficiency and combustion research, onboard natural gas storage, hybrid and electric platforms, waste heat recovery, aerodynamics, emissions control systems, lightweighting materials, hydrogen vehicle technologies and infrastructure, fleet retrofits, and complete vehicle modeling and testing.

This section directs the Secretary to conduct a competitive grant program to demonstrate the integration of multiple advanced technologies on Class 8 truck and trailer platforms, including combinations of technologies listed in section 8. Applicant teams may include truck and trailer manufacturers, engine and component manufacturers, fleet customers, university researchers, and other appropriate entities.

This section directs the Secretary, in coordination with partners of the interagency research program described in section 8, to develop standard testing procedures and technologies for evaluating the performance of advanced heavy vehicle technologies, including heavy hybrid propulsion systems, under a range of representative duty cycles and operating conditions. It also requires evaluation of heavy vehicle performance using work performance-based metrics other than miles per gallon, such as units of volume and weight transported for freight applications and metrics based on work performed by nonroad systems, and authorizes construction of heavy duty truck and bus testing facilities.

This section establishes a pilot program of research, development, demonstration, and commercial applications of technologies to improve total machine or system efficiency for nonroad mobile equipment, including agricultural, construction, air, and sea port equipment. The program directs the Secretary to seek opportunities to transfer relevant research findings and technologies between the nonroad and on-highway equipment and vehicle sectors.

This section repeals sections 706, 711, 712, and 933 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16051, 16061, 16062, 16233), which authorized research, development, and deployment programs for advanced vehicles and related technologies. This section also amends section 911 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16191) by (1) striking “vehicles, buildings,” and inserting “buildings” in subsection (a)(1)(A), (2) striking subparagraph (a)(2)(A) and redesignating subsequent subparagraphs, and (3) striking paragraph (c)(3) and making conforming redesignations and cross-reference updates in subsection (c).