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Transport

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.

Urban goods deliveries add to traffic congestion, noise and pollution. Image credit - Andrew Kambel/ Unsplash
transport | environment
10 February 2020

Electric bikes and silent trucks to green goods deliveries

Across Europe’s cities, the demand for delivery services is increasing. But these deliveries affect urban life as they add to traffic congestion, noise and pollution and many cities are now trying out alternative modes of transport that could help.

Cities need to set the rules of the game when it comes to innovative mobility services such as e-scooters and shared bikes, says Karen Vancluysen. Image credit - Polis network
interview | transport
03 February 2020

Q&A: ‘Cities need to roll out carrots and sticks to solve the last-mile problem’

How people and deliveries get to their final destination is currently making urban environments harder places to live, and cities need to solve this ‘last mile problem’ by using a combination of ‘carrot and stick’ measures, according to Karen Vancluysen, secretary general of Polis, a network of European cities and regions working on sustainable innovative transport solutions.

Almost half of fatal plane accidents happen between final approach and landing. Image credit - Pixabay/ windhaven1077, licensed under Pixabay license
transport
17 October 2019

Few aeroplanes land automatically but new systems could make this the norm

When it comes to planes cruising through the air, many of us are used to the idea of them flying on autopilot with little or no input from a human pilot as they travel from one destination to another. Landing a plane under autopilot, known as autoland, is a different matter. While some systems already exist, efforts are underway to improve them to enable safer landings.

Magnus Quaade Oddershede says his wing tip design could reduce the climate impact of aviation. Image credit - EUCYS/ European Commission
environment | transport | policy
17 September 2019

Wing tip device for cleaner aviation wins 2019 EU young scientist prize

An alternative aeroplane wing tip dubbed ‘new raked’ that would make flying more fuel efficient has been awarded one of four €7,000 first prizes at this year’s European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS).

Clean combustion expert Dr Chong Cheng Tung says that waste cooking oil and biomass are the most promising sources for green jet fuel. Image credit - Dr Chong Cheng Tung
interview | transport | environment | open to the world
13 June 2019

Aeroplanes could cut emissions by flying on waste cooking oil fuel

Blending biofuels and kerosene to create greener jet fuel has shown promising results in test flights, but more work needs to be done to ensure biofuels burn cleanly and can be produced in a large-scale, low-cost way, says Dr Chong Cheng Tung, associate professor at the China-UK Low Carbon College of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China.

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