The center is a nonprofit consortium of private companies, universities, public agencies and other nonprofits.
The program is intended to help businesses and communities reduce fuel use within existing operations and to teach participants how to integrate alternative fuel vehicles into their fleets. The center also will focus on developing infrastructure so that it reduces fuel demand.
The initiative is part of the Clean Cities program that launched two decades ago. But the Obama administration has called for higher fuel efficiency standards for vehicles and ramped up development efforts for cars and trucks that run on natural gas, electricity and propane.
Some 16 countries, the European Commission, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the US EPA, DoD and DoT have participated in the annual International Hydrail Conferences in the US, Europe and Turkey.
For info on the next generation of railway traction technology, Google hydrail and visit the international hydrail info site at Appalachian State U:
http://www.hydrail.org/conferences/49