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Transport

Making aviation sustainable is critical if the EU is to reach its goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050. Image credit - Nur Andi Ravsanjani Gusma/ Pexels, public domain
environment | transport
02 November 2020

How hybrid electric and fuel aircraft could green air travel

With air traffic set to increase 5% every year until 2030, scientists are looking at how to make aeroplanes more sustainable. But with current batteries making electric aircraft far too heavy, hybrid fuel and electric models could point the way forward for greener air travel - and could become airborne within 15 years.

One of the open issues around connected and automated vehicles is that the data shared by cars could reveal personal information about the driver. Image credit - Rudy and Peter Skitterians/Pixabay, licensed under the Pixabay licence
transport
18 September 2020

Five things to know about: making self-driving cars safe

Self-driving cars, or connected and automated vehicles (CAVs), are closer than ever to becoming a mainstay on our roads. Already, many modern cars have self-driving capabilities – now the next step is full automation.

During the coronavirus pandemic, railways have been used more heavily to transport Europe's freight. Image credit - Liberaler Humanist/Wikimedia, licensed CC BY 4.0 International
transport | coronavirus outbreak | environment
14 September 2020

Pandemic freight emissions reached 2030 target in just months. How do we make the changes stick?

The pandemic left a visible imprint on car, bus and bicycle use – and at its height brought about cleaner city air – but it also disrupted another, less obvious but highly polluting sector: freight transport. Coronavirus plunged millions of planes, trucks, trains and ships into a massive experiment, disrupting supply chains as national borders closed and industries shut down. Researchers and industry are now looking to see if any of the changes will stick.

Hydrogen-powered planes are still in their infancy but the first commercial versions could enter the European market by 2035 according to a new report. Image credit - DLR/CC BY-3.0
energy | transport | environment | policy
08 July 2020

Quiet and green: Why hydrogen planes could be the future of aviation

Today, aviation is responsible for 3.6% of EU greenhouse gas emissions. Modern planes use kerosene as fuel, releasing harmful carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. But what if there was another way?

Moving people from cars to other forms of mobility is ‘extremely complex’, partly because there are powerful lobbies resisting change, says Dr Chaix. Image credit - Basile Chaix
interview | health | transport | frontier research
06 July 2020

Q&A: What lockdown air pollution reductions mean for the future of urban transport

People in cities experienced cleaner air during lockdowns, but a permanent shift to greener modes of transport and habits is ‘extremely complex to achieve’ given how much space is devoted to cars and the groups resisting change, says Dr Basile Chaix, who studies the health trade-offs we make as we travel.

Automated or semi-automated shipping, which requires fewer people aboard vessels, could help expand the capacity of Europe's shipping industry. Image credit: Kongsberg Maritime
transport | ict
30 June 2020

Automated shipping coming to Europe’s waters

Moving more goods by water could reduce pressure on roads and cut emissions, yet Europe’s shipping industry is held back by labour shortages. Automated shipping – which would work in a similar way to self-driving cars – could help expand capacity but safety and regulatory hurdles remain.

Scientists are working to increase the number of charging cycles a lithium-sulphur battery can go through before it fails in order to make it a realistic alternative to today’s lithium-ion design. Image credit - Pxfuel, public domain
energy | transport | environment
05 June 2020

Cheaper, lighter and more energy-dense: The promise of lithium-sulphur batteries

Lithium-sulphur batteries, which are lighter and cheaper than today’s models, may be the next generation of power cells that we use in electric cars or mobile phones – if scientists can get them to last for longer.

E20 fuel would double the amount of ethanol in petrol and could reduce the EU's emissions from gasoline by 8.2%. Image credit - Piqsels, licenced under CCO
transport | environment | energy
09 March 2020

Why raising the alcohol content of Europe’s fuels could reduce carbon emissions

By 2030, a fifth of the fuel that motorists put into the petrol tanks of their cars could be alcohol, according to research concluding that new petrol and ethanol blends can reduce carbon emissions from Europe’s transport sector with little additional cost to consumers.

Autonomous vehicles must be well-integrated into public transport systems if they are to take off in Europe's cities, say researchers. Image credit - Keolis
transport
25 February 2020

Driverless shuttles: what are we waiting for?

In the zero-carbon cities of the future, commuting to work may take the form of hailing a driverless shuttle through an app which ferries you from your door to the nearest public transport terminal. In fact, autonomous shuttles have been in development in restricted areas for the past few years. So what will it take to make them part of our daily commute? 

Delivering online purchases to people’s homes and offices is a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions. Image credit -Piqsels, licenced under CC0 1.0
transport | environment
17 February 2020

The carbon cost of home delivery and how to avoid it

Delivering online shopping to people’s homes is a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly when deliveries fail and the journey needs to be repeated. Researchers are now re-thinking home deliveries to see if there is a better way of doing things, with ideas including robot couriers, jointly owned parcel lockers and an ‘Uber’ for parcels.

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