DETROIT ARSENAL, Mich. (Oct. 7, 2015) -- Representatives of the national leadership of the High-Efficiency Truck Users Forum, or HTUF, visited the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, or TARDEC, Sept. 30, 2015, to exchange information on the newest military and commercial vehicle capabilities.
The forum is in its 14th year, and this is the first time the meeting is being held at TARDEC. HTUF is a program managed and funded mostly by TARDEC's National Automotive Center, or NAC.
A private organization known as CALSTART, which is dedicated to the growth of clean transportation technologies industry, has operated the program since its inception. It brings fleets, truck original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, suppliers and other industry stakeholders together to ensure future product offerings are capable of meeting high-efficiency military needs.
HTUF includes OEMs and their major suppliers that market both military and commercial products with common technologies. The members envisioned this meeting to be a catalyst for making change happen in the high-efficiency truck and bus arena.
"HTUF is focused on driving high-efficiency technology adoption in medium- and heavy-duty vehicles that support military and commercial requirements," said Bill Van Amburg, CALSTART Senior Vice President. "This week's HTUF national meeting highlighted several of those key areas of military-commercial connection: greater electrification of trucks; increased automation; idle reduction and other fuel savings; and optimizing power-train design and integration."
Van Amburg leads all advanced commercial vehicle activities at CALSTART, as well as business development.
The net result of HTUF is an understanding of mutual needs, aligning investments and finding ways to drive dual-use technologies forward faster by working collaboratively, he said.
HTUF's goals are to promote and expand the commercial truck market opportunities for advanced technologies while driving down the cost of developing new technologies for the military.
"Reducing fuel use on the battlefield has proven to be a significant focus for the Army," said Dave Thomas, TARDEC NAC director. "The High Efficiency Truck Users Forum brings together experts and end users to discuss how to accelerate to both the military and commercial markets the emerging fuel-saving technologies."
As technology changes, so must HTUF, he said.
Brad McNett, HTUF program manager for the TARDEC NAC, kicked off an ongoing working group to share information about cybersecurity for connected vehicles. The working group will focus on gathering and disseminating the latest news and innovation in cybersecurity.
For information on the High-Efficiency Truck Users Forum, contact TARDEC Public Affairs Officer Douglas Halleaux, (586) 282-8543.
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The U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center is part of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, which has the mission to ensure decisive overmatch for unified land operations to empower the Army, the joint warfighter and our nation. RDECOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command.
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Army.mil: Science and Technology News
U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command
U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center
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