The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will award $12.5 million in grants and form a consortium to improve the operating efficiency of medium and heavy trucks, the agency has announced.

DOE has picked five topics for the applicants to pursue, including advanced internal combustion engine and powertrain systems, overall energy management, hybrid electric powertrains, other key truck technologies, and vehicle demonstration, according to the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center.

Grants applicants must address all five topics, and will need to add $12.5 million in matching funds, according to the solicitation.

The consortium funded through this solicitation will form a new technical track under the research center — an initiative to encourage collaboration and accelerate technological development and deployment in both countries.

This DOE funding opportunity will support the U.S. Consortium. With equivalent resources, Chinese funding will support a collaborative counterpart Chinese Consortium.