The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is investing $30 million in new funds to back 13 research projects that are intended to result in major technological advancements for natural gas vehicles (NGVs).

The funds are a part of the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) initiative, which focuses exclusively on supporting cutting-edge research and development in various areas. In terms of NGVs, the ARPA-E investment is aimed at overcoming barriers to further penetration of natural gas-powered transportation in the U.S.

Targets of the funding include areas such as the development of more sophisticated and lower-cost high-pressure compressed natural gas (CNG) storage tanks, as well as advanced natural gas compressors for home-based refueling systems.

The complete list of projects and awardees, which includes companies such as Eaton Corp., Ford Motor Co., GE and REL Inc., is available HERE.