Surface Transportation Environmental Research A Long-Term Strategy -- Special Report 268 (2002) / Chapter Skim
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5 Research Area 4: Emerging Technologies
5 Research Area 4: Emerging Technologies
Pages 105-127
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From page 105... ...
information, communication, and control technologies that will change the way vehicles are used. An important challenge is to create a policy environment that will facilitate and encourage the proliferation of these environmentally beneficial technologies (DeCicco and Delucchi 1997)
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From page 106... ...
This transformation could dramatically influence transportation's impact on the environment. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES Government plays a central role in guiding the development and diffusion of environmentally beneficial technologies.
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A strong, sustained research agenda can address both the opportu nities and concerns presented by new technologies. The goals of this research would be as follows: To define and articulate an appropriate and effective role for public R&D in accelerating the development and commercialization of environmentally beneficial technologies (given that government resources are at a much smaller scale than the private investment in transportation technologies)
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From page 108... ...
With large off setting increases in VMT, the overall effect has been substantial net reductions in carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions, but no net reduction in emis sions of nitrogen oxides.1 1High nitrogen oxide levels contribute to acid precipitation and thus have interregional and inter national implications, as well as impacts on urban air quality. Vehicular emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide combine with industrial sulfur emissions to acidify soils and lakes over long distances.
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From page 109... ...
transportation system to greenhouse gas production, in particular the increasing output of CO2, is a major concern internationally. As noted, while the technical energy efficiency of engines continues to improve through more efficient combustion and the use of lightweight materials and improved vehicle designs, fuel consumption continues to increase as a result of the production and sale of larger and more powerful vehicles and growth in travel.
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From page 110... ...
Consequently, internal combustion engines operating on cleaner petroleum fuels will continue to dominate the automotive market for many years, with natural gasbased fuels and next-generation electric-drive propulsion technologies gradually entering the market.
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What publicly funded R&D is needed, and what pub lic and publicprivate R&D processes need to be put in place to ensure conti nuity in these public efforts? The huge size of the automotive and energy Box 5-1 ELECTRIC-DRIVE VEHICLES Electric-drive vehicle technologies may be divided into four generic types: Pure battery electric vehicles that store wall-plug or charging-station electricity on board in batteries, ultracapacitors, and flywheels; Pure electric vehicles that obtain their electricity as needed from a rail, wire, or other off-board source; Hybrid electric vehicles that generate some or all of their electricity on board using a combustion engine; and Fuel-cell electric vehicles that convert chemical energy into electricity on board using a fuel-cell system.
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From page 112... ...
At present, major automotive companies, most of which are abandoning plans to build and market conventional-sized battery electric vehi cles, are on the verge of deciding whether to make substantial investments in fuel-cell electric vehicles and are beginning to invest in hybrid electric vehicle production. Automotive and energy companies are motivated to develop and com mercialize these technologies by a variety of considerations.
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From page 113... ...
The catalysts for these earlier transformations in transportation were (respectively) the steam engine, electric traction, and the internal combustion engine, together with the associated fuel supply infrastructures.
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Since World War II, transit has progressively lost overall market share, although transit ridership has grown in absolute terms in most major urban regions.3 Personal-vehicle occupancy rates declined until fairly recently and remain low. Vehicle ownership has steadily increased, and more than 60 percent of U.S.
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From page 115... ...
Role of Publicly Funded Research New and improved technologies play a central role in the evolution of the trans portation sector. Huge investments have been made in R&D, especially by the private sector, to enhance transportation technologies and improve their envi ronmental performance.
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, the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium, the Intelligent Vehicle Initiative, and the Future Truck Initiative]
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Analyze transition pathways to environmentally beneficial fuels and vehicle propulsion technologies. The United States is seriously considering a transition away from petroleum fuels and internal combustion engines.
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Should investments for converting remote natural gas into liquids be encouraged (through basic R&D at national laboratories and universities, R&D tax incen tives, and fuel quality and vehicle emission standards)
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Emission regulations and emission control technology on large diesel engines lag perhaps a decade behind those for light duty gasoline engines. Data and knowledge about freight transport and its energy and environmental impacts are sparse.
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These new options and services might include smart car sharing, smart para transit, dynamic ridesharing, and teleservices, as well as a variety of other inno vative new mobility services. Currently, none of these options can compete effectively with the private motor vehicle.
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From page 121... ...
To provide a better knowledge base for public policy, research is needed on the demand for and use of environmentally beneficial vehicles, fuels, and mobility services. Under what conditions and with what incentives would indi viduals and organizations embrace environmentally friendly products and ser vices?
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From page 122... ...
Example: Demand for and use of new packages of communication, ITS, and vehicle technologies. Many of the above research priorities for vehicles and fuels also apply to new modes of transport and mobility services now being created, including smart car sharing, smart paratransit, and dynamic ride sharing; they apply as well to information services that can permit the spatial and temporal reorganization of activities, notably work and shopping.
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Develop policy instruments to encourage environmentally beneficial vehicles, fuels, and mobility services. To a large extent, public policy is predicated on previous and current circum stances -- environmental, political, economic, and technological.
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Today's policy instruments are rapidly becom ing anachronistic and inefficient and have a distorting effect on innovation, new technology, and fuel investments. What type of policy structure might be used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation?
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From page 125... ...
The R&D resources of industry, especially in the automotive, energy, and information technology sectors, dwarf those of government. The challenge is to devise a cohesive public-sector R&D strategy that can leverage and stimulate industrial investments in environmentally beneficial technolo gies, and provide a knowledge base for designing and implementing efficient and effective public policy regarding transportation technologies.
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From page 126... ...
The question of what strategies and R&D activ ities would be most effective needs to be considered, as well as what relative priority should be given to safety, greenhouse gas emissions, particulate mat ter and other pollutants, acid precipitation, basic science research, and the role of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM)
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From page 127... ...
2001a. Effectiveness and Impact of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE)
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