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DOE OSTI2021

Transportation Energy Analytics Dashboard (TEAD)

The investment decisions within the nation’s transportation sector have traditionally been prioritized and measured against safety and travel efficiency goals. Increasingly, federal, state, and local policies are requiring consideration of energy use and emissions in the design of our transportation infrastructure. Yet the processes, analytics, and knowledge to include these new metrics into transportation decisions are lacking. Although targeted studies and before and after analysis are performed from time to time, no comprehensive real-time monitoring systems provide energy and emissions to the same level as congestion and safety. To address this gap, the Center for Advanced Transportation Technology (CATT Lab) and the Maryland Transportation Institute (MTI) at the University of Maryland (UMD), in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), have developed a Transportation Energy Analytics Dashboard, or TEAD, to raise awareness of the energy and emission impacts to the same level of observability as that of safety and mobility concerns. The overall goal of this project was to develop and demonstrate an online tool to monitor transportation energy use and emissions in real-time and to archive this data for retrospective analysis. By combining surface transportation energy and emissions evaluation capability with more traditional safety, mobility and reliability system evaluation, our goal is for TEAD to create a dynamic new paradigm in transportation systems management and performance analyses, for both real-time traffic operations, and longer-term planning for project and program investment decision-making.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2023

Utilizing data-based modeling with low life cycle GHG emissions algae biofuels for engine optimization

Aquatic microalgae are a highly promising feedstock for the production of biocrude and tailored biofuels, with distinct advantages over traditional terrestrial crops, such as reduced land use and avoidance of food production competition. However, unlocking their full potential requires the development of biofuels with low life cycle greenhouse emissions biofuels, such as algae biofuels, which can significantly reduce the environmental impact of the transportation systems without requiring a complete overhaul of existing engine technology. In this study, we employ cutting-edge data-based AI modeling techniques to optimize the performance of heavy-duty engines, with a focus on transitioning towards biofuels with low life cycle greenhouse emissions biofuels. Our methodology offers significant advantages over traditional sweep testing, enabling efficient and accurate optimization of engine performance with minimal time and resources consumption. Our findings demonstrate the potential of utilizing this approach, with up to 55% NOx emissions reductions and up to 2% reduction in fuel consumption compared to the baseline optimized point. Moving forward, we plan to utilize a 30% blend of algae biofuels with diesel fuel, with the ultimate goal of achieving up to 60% lifecycle GHG emissions. Lastly, we plan to compare the results with 100% renewable biodiesel to add an additional dimension of investigating the impact of fuel chemistry on engine optimization. Overall, this study underscores the vital importance of biofuels for reducing the carbon footprint of the transportation sector and supporting a sustainable future. By harnessing the power of data-based AI modeling with low life cycle greenhouse emissions biofuels, we can accelerate the adoption of more environmentally friendly transportation systems and reduce their impact on the planet. Our findings contribute to this transition and offer insights for developing efficient and effective strategies for addressing global climate change.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Quantifying the Impact of Transportation on Climate - Energy Analytics Dashboard: Preprint

The investment decisions within the nation's transportation sector have traditionally been prioritized and measured against safety and travel efficiency goals. Increasingly, federal, state, and local policies are requiring consideration of energy use and emissions in the design of our transportation infrastructure. Yet the processes, analytics, and knowledge to include these new metrics into transportation decisions are lacking. Although targeted studies and before and after analysis are performed from time to time, no comprehensive real-time monitoring systems provide energy and emissions to the same level as congestion and safety. To address this gap, this paper developed and demonstrated the Transportation Energy Analytics Dashboard, or TEAD, to raise awareness of the energy and emission impacts to the same level of observability as that of safety and mobility concerns.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY PLANNING, POLIC↗

DOE OSTI2021

Analyzing the Economic and Technical Potential of H2@Scale

H2@Scale is one of EERE's flagship initiatives to enable clean and affordable hydrogen production, storage, distribution, and utilization across multiple sectors in the economy. The January H2IQ hour will discuss results from a recent multi-laboratory analysis report quantifying the technical and economic potential of H2@Scale, given the use of hydrogen as an energy intermediate to integrate sectors in the U.S. energy system. Mark Ruth of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the lead author of the report, will discuss specific examples of the role hydrogen can play in industry and transportation sectors, such as steelmaking, synthetic fuels, and blending into natural gas pipelines. He will also explain how hydrogen production can be integrated with the electric grid to monetize low-cost energy and incentivize growth in renewable energy supply. The H2IQ Hour will dive into estimates for future hydrogen consumption in current and emerging sectors, given R&D advances and varying prices of natural gas and electricity.

39 EE - Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies (EE-3F↗

DOE OSTI2023

Quantifying the Sensitive Parameters of the New Energy Vehicles in China

To achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, the Chinese government has put effort into decarbonizing the transportation sector. Consequently, China elaborated a new energy vehicle strategy promoting the production of electric vehicles and expanding into hydrogen (H2) vehicle technologies including fuel cell electric vehicles and H2 internal combustion engine vehicles. The Transportation Energy Analysis Model (TEAM) projects the market penetration as well as energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions in China up to 2050. By integrating the Monte Carlo simulation, this study tests the robustness of TEAM and investigates the key parameters that will shape passenger vehicle sales and emissions in the future. The results show that fuel cell cost, H2 price, and battery cost are the most sensitive parameters for H2 vehicle technologies.

Saafi, Mohamed Ali↗

DOE OSTI2023

EVI-Pro for Bogota Columbia [Slides]

The transportation sector is one of the largest producers of greenhouse gas emissions globally, with 37% of global CO 2 emissions in 2021 according to the International Energy Agency. Transitioning from internal combustion engine vehicles powered by fossil fuels to electrified transportation is a critical component in reducing those emissions significantly over the coming decades and avoiding the worst consequences of climate change. With governments and automakers increasingly announcing electrification targets and a progression away from the production and sale of internal combustion engine vehicles, a robust network of charging infrastructure must be built to enable the widespread use of electric vehicles (EVs). Some of the greatest hurdles to EV deployment are linked to the buildout of the required charging infrastructure including where it should be built, what types and how much charging would be optimal given high costs of installation, and the impact on the electrical grid. To this end, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) conducts extensive research on EV deployment, including the development of the EVI-Pro model used to plan the future buildout of charging infrastructure given the travel patterns in a region. This document summarizes work done by NREL in the Bogotá, Colombia region to help Colombia plan for its EV deployment goals.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2023

Pathways Toward Efficient and Durable Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers Enabled By Electro‐Active Porous Transport Layers

Abstract Green hydrogen, produced via water electrolysis using renewable electricity, will play a crucial role in decarbonizing industrial and heavy‐duty transportation sectors. Anion exchange membrane water electrolyzers (AEMWEs) can overcome many of the performance and cost limitations of incumbent technologies, however, still suffer from durability challenges due to oxidative instability of anion‐exchange ionomers. Herein, the use of an electro‐active porous transport layer as anode (PTL‐electrode) is demonstrated to enable efficient and durable AEMWEs. The stainless‐steel PTL‐electrodes are shown to have superior performance and durability compared to traditional catalyst layers containing ionomer and nanoparticle catalysts. An AEMWE cell operating at 2 A cm −2 for over 600 h exhibited a degradation rate of just 5 µV h −1 . During operation, the surface composition of the stainless steel transforms into a mixture of iron and nickel oxyhydroxides, contributing to enhanced oxygen‐evolution reaction activity. The combination of experimental work and modeling elucidates how the bulk structure of the PTL‐electrode offers an additional design dimension to further improve electrolyzer performance. Lastly, a surface modification strategy is applied to a PTL‐electrode to achieve an even higher performing AEMWE (2.3 vs 2.0 A cm −2 at 1.8 V). Overall, this work lays out pathways toward more efficient, durable, and affordable AEMWEs.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2023

Grooved electrodes for high-power-density fuel cells

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are leading candidates to decarbonize the transport sector, but widespread deployment will require improvements in lifetime, fuel economy and cost. Here we present the grooved electrode, an alternative electrode structure that enhances PEMFC performance and durability by coupling high ionomer (ion-conducting binder) content for improved H + transport with grooves for rapid O 2 transport. Grooved electrodes provide up to 50% higher performance than state-of-the-art conventional electrodes under standard operating conditions. Fuel cell diagnostics combined with multiphysics modelling demonstrate that grooved electrodes provide facile O 2 transport despite their high ionomer content, enabling improved reaction rate uniformity. Grooved electrodes also provide improved durability, with less performance loss after carbon corrosion compared with baseline electrodes. Machine learning analysis demonstrates the potential to further optimize grooved structures for next-generation PEMFCs with enhanced performance and durability, enabling smaller and cheaper fuel cell stacks with higher fuel efficiency.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2022

Light-Duty Vehicle Transportation Policy and Implication on Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The transportation sector accounts for 16% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is under formidable pressure to decarbonize. With a growing number of countries making commitments to achieve carbon neutrality or “net-zero” emissions within the next few decades, it is imperative for transportation researchers and policymakers to understand the viable pathways towards achieving carbon neutrality for light-duty transport. This chapter discusses the transportation policies and GHG emissions of the three largest markets in the world—the U.S., China, and the European Union. The life cycle GHG emissions of various vehicle technologies are evaluated while highlighting the regional and temporal differences. We then use market penetration and fleet models, developed specifically for each market, to comprehensively assess the light-duty transport energy demand and GHG emissions under various scenarios. The modeling results show that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will increase in market share, but internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV) will continue to dominate the passenger vehicle stock in the next 20 years under most scenarios. Improving ICEV efficiency can play a critical role in meeting GHG regulations in the near- and medium-term. BEVs, whose GHG emissions are highly dependent on the source of electricity generation, will play an essential role in the long-term as the electric grid becomes cleaner. In summary, transportation policies should be technology agnostic and consider emissions based on the whole life cycle. Moreover, a holistic approach to reducing transportation GHG emissions is key to achieving global environmental goals.

Ou, Shawn↗

DOE OSTI2020

Multiscale Understanding and Architecture Design of High Energy/Power Lithium-Ion Battery Electrodes

Among various commercially available energy storage devices, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) stand out as the most compact and rapidly growing technology. This multicomponent system operates on coupled dynamics to reversibly store and release electricity. With the hierarchical electrode architectures inside LIBs, versatile functionality can be realized by design, while considerable difficulties remain to be solved to fully exploit the capability of each constituent. With the rapid electrification of the transportation sector and an urgent need to overhaul electric grids in the context of renewable energy penetration, demands for concomitant high energy and high power batteries are continuously increasing. Although building an ideal battery requires effort from multiple scientific and engineering aspects, it is imperative to gain insight into multiscale transport behaviors arising in both spatial and temporal dimensions, and enable their harmonic integration inside the whole battery system. In this progress report, recent research efforts on characterizing and understanding transport kinetics in LIBs are reviewed covering a broad range of electrode materials and length scales. Further, to demonstrate the crucial role of such information in revolutionary electrode design, examples of innovative high energy/power electrodes are provided with their unique hierarchical porous architectures highlighted. To conclude, perspectives on further approaches toward advanced thick electrode designs with fast kinetics and tailored properties are discussed.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2026

Conformable, Composite Tank for Liquid Hydrogen Storage in Heavy-duty Ground Transportation

Raytheon Technologies Research Center (RTRC), with its partners, Argonne National Labs and University of Dayton Research Institute proposed to design and manufacture a conformable composite tank prototype to store liquid Hydrogen (LH2) for heavy-duty truck applications. A dual-wall tank concept was proposed where an outer shell covers and protects an inner pressure vessel that stores liquid hydrogen. The inner pressure vessel is liner-less and designed with a conformable concept, derived from prior RTRC ARPA-E program where multiple vessels are coalesced into one, maximizing space utilization and reducing surface area for heat leak. The gap between the dual wall is evacuated of air pressure, and filled with multi-layer insulation to minimize radiative heat transfer. Fiber reinforced composites were proposed for light-weighting and conformable shape manufacture. To minimize LH2 leakage, carbon nanotubes-infused composites were proposed, in addition to use of thin plies. The project was divided into two 18-month budget periods (BP), BP1 and BP2, separated by a Go/No-Go gate review. The high-level goal for BP1 was to demonstrate the feasibility of the overall approach, the tank design, material selection, and manufacturing methodology, build and test a prototype tank; and the goal for BP2 was to design and manufacture a conformal tank per DOE requirements (minimum 20 kg of LH2) and perform a successful test of the tank. The program was terminated about two-thirds of the way through BP1. The outcome of this program would have permitted long-haul trucks and construction vehicles to use liquid Hydrogen, reducing the emission of green-house gases. This technology is applicable to other transportation sectors as well.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2021

Vehicle-Cycle Inventory for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles

The United States has witnessed multiple attempts to improve fuel economy and reduce pollutant emissions in the transportation sector, guided chiefly via technological interventions by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and by specific policies of the U.S. Federal Government, like Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) norms (Burnham et al., 2006; U.S. DoT, 2013). These efforts have resulted in the growing adoption of alternatives to conventional materials, fuels, and vehicle propulsion technologies across various transportation modes, while also helping to lower global pollution (greenhouse gas, or GHG, emissions). Yet, a holistic evaluation of the ecofriendliness of these alternatives, particularly their energy use and emissions, merits detailed focus on their entire life-cycle, and thereby, on the life-cycle of associated transport modes. This is vital since alternative fuels and materials can differ vastly in energy sources and production methods employed for their processing vis-à-vis their existing counterparts — and this difference causes significant variation in their respective upstream emissions.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Urban cells: Extending the energy hub concept to facilitate sector and spatial coupling

The rapid growth of urban areas and concerns over climate change make it vital to improve the energy sustainability of cities. Understanding the complex interactions within different sectors (sectoral) and localities (spatial) of cities plays a crucial role in improving efficiency and sustainability, which is extremely challenging due to the complex urban morphology. State-of-the-art energy concepts do not facilitate a detailed consideration of both sectoral and spatial coupling that energy infrastructure maintains at the urban scale. This has become a significant challenge when designing interconnected urban energy infrastructure. The Urban Cell concept is introduced to address this bottleneck. A novel computational model using a modular approach is introduced to create an interconnected urban infrastructure, including the energy, building, and transportation sectors. Optimal sizing of the distributed energy system (including renewables, energy storage, and dispatchable sources) and optimal urban morphology is determined within a modular unit. A game-theoretic approach is used to model the interactions between urban cells (modular units). The study revealed that the urban cell concept can reduce the net present value of the interconnected energy infrastructure by 37% while increasing the installed renewable energy capacity by 25%. This demonstrates the benefit potential of urban cells and the importance of considering interactions between different sectors and different parts within a city. The Urban Cell concept can be used to present the complex interactions maintained within a city.

Perera, ATD↗

DOE OSTI2026

Modeling and Calibration of Supplier Selection Problem in Freight Agent-Based Simulations

Freight transportation modeling often struggles with data limitations, especially in accurately representing complex supplier selection processes and their impact on network flows. This research addresses this critical gap by developing a large-scale, calibrated agent-based model for supplier selection, complemented by a probabilistic heuristic for international shipments. Our approach integrates trade relationships between industry sectors, transportation costs, and a supplier-rating model adapted from existing literature. The model’s core objective is to minimize the discrepancy between modeled and observed commodity flows while ensuring a close match to regional shipping distance distributions. Implemented and tested across four major U.S. metropolitan areas—Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas–Fort Worth, and Los Angeles—the model demonstrates high fidelity in replicating observed freight patterns. Key findings reveal consistent alignment with national shipping distance trends and highlight significant spatial variations in commodity trade assignments and demand across the study regions. This behaviorally informed and transport-sensitive framework is designed to approximate real-world decision making, providing a robust tool for policymakers and planners to evaluate targeted interventions, assess infrastructure investments, and enhance supply chain resilience in the face of disruptions.

Ismael, Abdelrahman (ORCID:0000000303712110)↗

DOE OSTI2023

A Review on Simulation Platforms for Agent-Based Modeling in Electrified Transportation

As the use of combustion engine vehicles plays a deciding role in global warming, we can observe a trend to replace them with electric vehicles (EV) driven by new environmentally conscious policies and increasing technological capabilities. With improvements in driving range and reduction in prices come new challenges that may hamper the progress towards complete battery driven transportation. A major challenge for the increasing EV adoption is the planning of extensions to existing infrastructure or the inclusion of new infrastructure components in the planning process. This demands increasingly complex planning tools that can simulate the interplay between different stakeholders in modern transportation scenarios such as EVs, charging stations, energy providers, and general transportation participants. Simulation platforms for agent-based modeling in transportation have been developed as effective interactive tools that allow planners to explore different trade-offs across different scenarios with the ability to simulate the impact of policy or infrastructure decisions on the different stakeholders in the simulation. This article surveys several of the major simulation platforms that include modern EV-based forms of transportation and allow the simulation of relevant infrastructure components alongside the well established transportation simulations. These tools allow researchers to analyze expected traffic flow, identify possible charging station locations based on area demand, predict electrical grid demand, and more. Here this survey intends to make it easier for researchers to identify and apply a simulation platform in the context of supporting the increasing electrification of the transportation sector, enabling more efficient simulation and planning capabilities in this domain.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

NASA NTRS2001

The Air Transportation Policy of Small States: Meeting the Challenges of Globalization

The air transport policies of small states are currently at a crossroad. Policy makers in these countries are facing a difficult dilemma: either follow the general trend of liberalization and pay the high cost of the resulting restructuring or maintain the existing regulatory and ownership structures at the risk of isolation thus undermining the viability and sustainability of their air transport sector and their economies in general. This paper proposes to explore the broad issues raised by this difficult dilemma, to outline its special significance in the context of small states and to delineate the options opened to the economic policymakers; in these states. After a brief note on the method of research, we sketch the main elements of the international air transport industry in which the airlines of small states are called upon to act. We then propose to review the main features of the analytical framework of this debate as it pertains to the special circumstances of these states. Then we focus on the challenges facing the airlines of Small States, while the next section proposes a number of the alternative policy options open to the policy makers in these states. The main conclusions are drawn in the final section.

Antoniou, Andreas↗

DOE OSTI2022

Building a Sustainable Aviation Brain Trust: Key Insights From the 2022 NREL Partner Forum

Cross-sector collaboration is key for guiding the large, complex aviation industry over the emissions peak and quickly down the slope to net-zero - that theme was repeated regularly during the two-day 2022 NREL Partner Forum. With an expanding global economy, more people than ever want the convenience of air travel. That has made aviation the fastest-growing transportation sector, as well as a rising source of carbon emissions. How can the industry serve its customers while charting a course to net-zero in line with climate goals? Interest and momentum from public and private sectors are mounting to answer that question, a backdrop for the Partner Forum. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) brought 200 attendees to the whiteboard to find common goals, align interests, understand technologies, and discuss steps for safely and seamlessly decarbonizing aviation. This document captures the tenor of the conversations and provides a summary of the 1.5 day event for those who were not able to attend or who have interest in this area.

aircraft↗

DOE OSTI2025

Vehicle-Cycle Inventory for Type C School Buses & Intra-City Transit Buses

This report documents the new inventory incorporated into the Research and Development version of Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies (R&D GREET) 2025 model for the vehicle cycle of Type C school buses and intracity transit buses. The transportation sector contributes significantly to the United States’ energy consumption and resultant emissions (EPA, 2025a). However, public transit plays an important role in mitigating these impacts because it consumes a relatively low amount of energy per passenger (Congressional Budget Office, 2022). Public transit is widely used in the United States; more than 500,000 school buses (EPA, 2025b) and ~75,000 service buses (American Public Transportation Association, 2025) operate in the nation. These are primarily internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) powered by diesel. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are making efforts to electrify U.S. bus fleets by using batteries as a propulsion system to replace internal combustion engines. Electrification can reduce tailpipe emissions, such as particulate matter (with a diameter ≤10 µm [PM 10 ] and with a diameter ≤2.5 µm [PM 2.5 ]) and nitrogen oxides (Jonas et al., 2025; Martinez and Samaras, 2024; EPA, 2025b; Wayne et al., 2009). Hence, any energy and emission impact analysis of public transit must consider both conventional ICEVs and upcoming electric vehicle (EV) options for the school and transit buses that dominate this landscape. To understand the detailed environmental impact profiles of ICEV and EV school and transit buses, it is necessary to conduct a thorough analysis covering both vehicle manufacturing and vehicle use stages. The current literature lacks a detailed vehicle-cycle inventory for school and transit buses, which makes this kind of comparison difficult. To overcome this gap, we developed a comprehensive vehicle-cycle model for school and transit buses in Argonne’s R&D GREET 2025 model. The model is flexible in handling user inputs for key assumptions, such as component weights and material compositions, upstream energy sources for material processing, and vehicle operating parameters, to understand their impacts on energy use and emissions for both school and transit buses. This report is organized as follows: Section 2 provides details on the modeling approach and vehicle specifications (weights and composition of different vehicle components, and vehicle operating parameters) for both school and transit buses. Section 3 provides details on vehicle assembly, disposal, and recycling (ADR) approaches for the two buses. Section 4 includes details about their incorporation into the R&D GREET model.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗