The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded Penske Truck Leasing a $400,000 grant for the company’s Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) Demonstration and Enhanced Driver Experience Project, to be administered by the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Penske said it will use the funds to further introduce alternative-fuel vehicles to its customer base.

“This grant will allow fleets to experience alternatively fueled vehicles at a reduced cost, and it will provide Penske the ability to expand our work with customer fleets via comprehensive demonstrations and deep dive technical support," said Matt Krasney, Penske director of alternative fuels.

The company is starting the process of identifying truck leasing and commercial truck rental customers nationally to participate.

"We plan to target customers who currently don't have natural gas equipment, because they may have been deterred by the high vehicle cost and lack of information,” Krasney said. “Penske will walk them through the process, step-by-step."