Energy and mobility solutions

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Increased fossil fuel use is a major cause of global warming, leading to Climate Breakdown[1]. With much energy being used in the energy and mobility systems of moving citizens about cities, this cluster addresses technological interventions that can support the transition to a low-carbon society.

General introduction to approach

The cluster addresses technological interventions in the energy and mobility systems that can support the transition to a low-carbon society. Approaches mostly point to good practices and recommendations based on research and case-study analysis, surveys and future studies (e.g. good practices in urban schemes with decarbonised transport and energy system, innovation roadmap for urban bus systems, research blindspots for vehicle-to-grid and electric mobility diffusion). It also includes a transnational pilot deployment towards advancing Smart Cities (e.g. through Intelligent Districts and Smarter Energy applications). Actors coming from business, academia and research, public / city authorities and policy makers, and citizens and the wider public were involved to varying degrees and combinations.

Shapes, sizes and applications

Some approaches aim to show proof of concept of a Smart City that not only technologically pushed, but where there is increased pull from end-users, in particular public authorities and citizens. They are part of a transnational pilot across different building-sites with a focus on Intelligent Districts, Smarter Energy, and Smarter Lighting interventions.

Others identified good practices, and defined investment and research priorities for the diffusion of technologies such as electric mobility and vehicle-to-grid, or for the increased performance, accessibility and efficiency or urban bus systems.

Relation to UrbanA themes: Cities, sustainability, and justice

All the approaches refer to cities, with applications in buildings or public spaces such as squares and streets, neighborhoods or system scales. Justice is identified as a key research area for ensuring accessibility and safety measures to bus infrastructures and vehicles, particularly in light of ageing population trends, and also as a blindspot in research related to the diffusion of electric mobility and vehicle-to-grid (V2G). The latter highlights the link between justice and sustainability, highlighting that although a vehicle-to-grid transition has much to offer society, less is understood about how those benefits are distributed, especially among vulnerable groups.

Sustainability topics cover smart and sustainable Green Growth, factors that shape energy demand from the viewpoints of both infrastructure and lifestyle and behaviour, and improved efficiency and reduced emissions from transport from a mobility perspective.

Narrative of change

Transitioning into a low-carbon society through smart and sustainable green growth of the energy and transport sectors, while promoting broader uptake of technological innovations and participation of end-users (in particular citizens and public authorities), and reducing traffic and pollution in Europe's cities.

Innovation ecosystems such as those brought about by Smart Cities, and taking system approaches to energy and transport development (namely linking end-users, vehicles, infrastructure and operations together with a high-quality service) are key elements of change. Sharing good practices to stimulate the deployment of key solutions at scale and exploiting research outcomes through sectoral and cross-sectoral networks are also fundamental.

Transformative potential

One approach looked into enablers and obstacles of the energy transition towards a post-carbon society from a technological societal process and a political societal process.

Summary of relevant approaches

A transport roadmap for developing new bus systems based on more-electric technologies and alternative fuels in Europe´s cities

A transport roadmap for developing new bus systems based on more-electric technologies and alternative fuels was developed under the FP7 project 3 IBS - The Intelligent, Innovative, Integrated Bus Systems, and promises to reduce traffic and pollution in Europe's cities. The roadmap for an European Advanced Bus Systems was based on surveys conducted on European bus system strategies. It presents a snapshot of the bus fleets in operation in urban areas across Europe and helps understanding the role of bus systems in local mobility policies for the coming years, a step towards a stronger competitiveness of the bus in the urban environment.

It identified six research areas:

  • A “bus system” perspective should be prioritised in order to manage efficiently interfaces with infrastructure, traffic and all users’ needs.
  • IT platform integration; standardization and harmonization of information system and open architecture as a logical answer to efficient bus system integration
  • Sustainability of the bus system can be reached via smart use of energy all along the bus system (of which electrification offers an important contribution), and the improvement of the environmental, economical and social performances under a life cycle perspective
  • Research on innovative vehicle technologies;
  • Modularity can bring an important contribution to the attractiveness of the bus system, through the optimization of the capacity, consumption (and emissions), as well as frequency of services during different hours according to the demand
  • Meeting the mobility challenges of an ageing society; where future bus systems must also be attractive for elderly people and their needs

References

  1. George Monbiot, Sep 2013, Guardian UK: Climate change? Try catastrophic climate breakdown https://www.theguardian.com/environment/georgemonbiot/2013/sep/27/ipcc-climate-change-report-global-warming