Transportation Research News
Explore our archive of transportation and mobility research news stories.
Dec. 27, 2023
NREL researchers and staff reached countless goals and achieved numerous successes in science, partnerships, and commercialization in 2023. Here are just a few of the highlights.
Dec. 14, 2023
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) joined a $40 million program led by the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to radically rethink how components within data centers are cooled.
Dec. 13, 2023
For Douglas DeVoto, who leads reliability and prognostics research for automotive power electronics within NREL's power electronics and electric machines group, failure is the most fascinating part of his job. Most recently, that curiosity led to him being awarded the Excellence in Mechanics Award by the Electronic and Photonic Packaging Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
Dec. 1, 2023
NREL has brought together two pivotal tools to garner real-world data to answer questions and enable in-depth evaluation of emerging transportation modes such as e-bikes.
Nov. 17, 2023
In its first-ever update, the Transportation Annual Technology Baseline (ATB) now offers its users expanded cost and performance data to inform transportation sector analysis nationwide.
Nov. 15, 2023
From the Grand Canyon to the majestic Tetons, national parks in the western United States draw more than 80 million visitors a year. Most of these visitors rely on their personal vehicles or rentals to get them there.
Nov. 1, 2023
The rapid adoption of zero-emission electric vehicles will move the nation close to an 80% or more drop in transportation greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 from the 2019 level according to NREL.
Oct. 18, 2023
A new collaboration between NREL and ACE Green Recycling aims to develop and optimize recycling techniques that will bridge the gap between sustainability and profitability, specifically for lithium iron phosphate batteries.
Oct. 12, 2023
Widespread electrification initiatives are increasing the demands on America's aging power grid, but utilities and consumers may have an unlikely ally in electric vehicles.
Oct. 3, 2023
Commercial vehicle fleet owners and operators face a pressing question: Can zero-emissions alternatives, like battery-electric and hydrogen-fueled trucks, accomplish the same work as their diesel-powered fleets? To answer this question, NREL has released a new web-based data platform called Fleet Research, Energy Data, and Insights (FleetREDI).
Oct. 2, 2023
NREL met with stakeholders and partners at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to launch Athena ZEV—the next phase of Athena—which aims to electrify transportation and de-risk airport investments, with an initial focus on rental cars.
Sept. 25, 2023
Electric vehicle (EV) adoption is moving forward at a rapid rate. However, the plan for supporting infrastructure—where, when, and how to deploy EV chargers and upgrade the power grid—is a complex and moving target.
Sept. 22, 2023
Almost 2,500 miles and numerous differences in size, culture, and climate separate Los Angeles, California, from Tehuantepec, Mexico.
Sept. 18, 2023
Consumer confidence in driving hydrogen-fueled vehicles could be improved by having station operators adopt a predictive model that helps them anticipate maintenance needs, according to researchers at NREL and Colorado State University.
Sept. 15, 2023
Clean transportation technologies are entering the market and hitting the roads faster than ever with billions of dollars in new investments from the federal government and private industry.
Sept. 15, 2023
Electric unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are versatile for industrial applications but face performance challenges. A new collaboration is scaling an efficient and long-lasting hydrogen storage solution for UAVs.
Sept. 14, 2023
It has never been easier to locate a public charging station but finding one that functions properly can still be a frustrating reality for many electric vehicle (EV) owners.
Aug. 23, 2023
Ten advancements that represent the full uniqueness, foresight, and continued importance of NREL's Energy Systems Integration Facility.
Aug. 22, 2023
With help from commercial vehicle researchers from NREL, a small commercial salmon troller named I Gotta will soon make history as one of the first low-emissions fishing vessels ever deployed in Alaska.
Aug. 17, 2023
Join NREL in celebrating the partnerships working to bring sustainability to the skies—past, present, and future.
Aug. 4, 2023
At a a two-day workshop hosted by NREL, thought leaders from industry, government, and academia discussed the challenges—and opportunities—that should be prioritized to create the sustainable transportation systems of the future.
Aug. 2, 2023
ALTRIOS, the Advanced Locomotive Technology and Rail Infrastructure Optimization System, is the world's first fully integrated, open-source software designed for exploring deep decarbonization of the rail industry. The software is now publicly available for download.
July 31, 2023
With support from the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Energy, NREL is collaborating with the Kingdom of Tonga and other Pacific Island nations to support their ambitious clean energy, mobility, and resilience goals.
July 27, 2023
NREL is providing tools and technical support to help Ukraine realize a resilient, decentralized, renewable Energy Grid.
July 21, 2023
NREL Distinguished Researcher Matt Keyser values recycling and upcycling—whether with used lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries or the invasive lionfish he spears while scuba diving.
July 18, 2023
From race car drivers to battery engineers, human nature drives us to push the boundaries of speed, performance, and efficiency in pursuit of excellence. Researchers are applying this determination and focus to optimize lithium-ion batteries for faster electric vehicle charging.
July 17, 2023
The power system is so complex that even supercomputers struggle to efficiently solve certain optimization problems. But quantum computers might fare better, and now researchers can explore that prospect thanks to a software interface between quantum computers and grid equipment.
July 3, 2023
As electric bicycle sales continue to outpace electric car sales, programs across the nation are turning to NREL's Open Platform for Agile Trip Heuristics (NREL OpenPATH) tool to inform incentive programs for electric bicycles.
June 27, 2023
Nearly 70 years ago, the United States began construction on the Interstate Highway System, setting in motion an effort that has been called the greatest public works project in American history.
June 22, 2023
Imagine an emergency vehicle that can provide reliable power to disaster recovery sites, operating in near silence and emitting only water vapor. H2Rescue is just that.
June 21, 2023
Amid the buzz of alternative aircraft and fuels, the Colorado Division of Aeronautics has been swayed: New aviation technologies are a major opportunity for Coloradans, and it is time to start planning their future.
June 21, 2023
Six teams competing in the the inaugural Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize have been named grand prize winners after their year-long efforts to advance an equitable and just clean energy ecosystem within their communities.
June 20, 2023
To see the future of on-demand transit, researchers from NREL spent three days touring innovative mobility systems across the Southwest. Here's what they learned.
June 8, 2023
A long-standing federal effort to decarbonize transportation proves how advanced technologies can make meaningful, real-world impacts by intertwining national goals and initiatives with local, community-based actions.
June 8, 2023
The Chattanooga Digital Twin Project, a collaboration between NREL and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, aimed to reduce transportation-based energy emissions and commuting delays in the city using advanced computing.
June 5, 2023
Sreekant Narumanchi, who leads NREL's advanced power electronics and electric machines research, has been awarded the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Avram Bar-Cohen Memorial Medal.
June 5, 2023
Faisal Khan, chief researcher of power electronics at NREL, is leading a transformational project to revolutionize the power electronics systems within electric vehicles and for high-power, high-voltage, industrial-scale power conversion. How? With a smart, rugged, and wireless gallium oxide power module.
May 31, 2023
In collaboration with Volvo Group, NREL researchers charted a path forward for achieving a zero-emission future for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Together, the industry/research team explored the current status and mapped the opportunity space for various technologies that could help turn that vision into reality.
May 23, 2023
NREL's newest building, the Research and Innovation Laboratory (RAIL), which will house multipurpose lab space, is the first laboratory building to open at NREL's Golden, Colorado, campus since the fall of 2013.
May 22, 2023
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced today that NREL will begin work on a series of additions and improvements to two of its campuses made possible by $150 million in funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA).
May 18, 2023
As a group manager in NREL's Bioenergy Science and Technology Directorate, Calvin Mukarakate, with a world-class team of biofuel engineers and scientists, is applying his mind to realize an important dream: commercializing processes for making billions of gallons of low-carbon sustainable aviation fuel.
May 10, 2023
Katherine Hurst's career is dedicated to investigating how to make hydrogen more affordable and accessible to use across multiple energy sectors.
May 4, 2023
A new modeling framework may help Dallas Fort Worth International Airport—and others in the future—design electric bus deployment strategies.
May 1, 2023
Nearly 70 years ago, the United States began construction on the interstate highway system, setting in motion an effort that has been called the greatest public works project in American history.
April 27, 2023
A delicate balancing act between the generation of renewable energy and the demand for that power could reduce the need for as much short-duration storage, according to a new proof-of-concept paper authored by researchers at NREL.
April 24, 2023
The National Park Service and National Renewable Energy Laboratory have collaborated on a new tool: an EV charging map. Now, visitors can check if an EV charging site can be found at any of the United States’ more than 400 national parks, monuments, and historic sites.
April 18, 2023
NREL will collaborate with industry partners on four projects to plan zero-emission electric vehicle charging and hydrogen fuel infrastructure spanning more than half of the United States.
April 6, 2023
LIBRA uses powerful system dynamics modeling to analyze the supply chain and evaluate the economic viability of Li-ion battery manufacturing, reuse, and recycling.
March 29, 2023
In a new report supporting Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport's carbon neutrality goals, NREL scientists detail futuristic technologies, like using augmented reality navigational systems and querying directional robots, that could help to make airports more energy efficient and more equitable for all.
March 28, 2023
In Fiscal Year 2022, NREL played a critical role in computing advancements for 300-plus clean energy research projects through high-performance computing (HPC), efficient data center operation, and state-of-the-art data visualization.
March 20, 2023
NREL’s new lab builds on the evolving role that advanced sensing and computational controls play in connected and automated movement and applies it to the coordinated movement of vehicles on the road, as well as how people move and navigate in large facilities such as airports.
March 16, 2023
When Chemical Engineer Arpit Bhatt and his NREL colleagues observed a gap in knowledge of how regional variables work together to affect sustainable aviation fuel production and delivery for individual airports across the country, they got to work—using Chicago O'Hare International Airport as a case study.
March 14, 2023
It is about 10,000 miles between the main NREL campus and Western Australia. But that distance shrank considerably when Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) announced a partnership with NREL for a U.S.-based FFI Worldwide Green Hydrogen research and development center in Colorado.
Jan. 30, 2023
A team of NREL researchers collected detailed vehicle analysis to show how drayage trucks operating at the Port of New York and New Jersey could be strong candidates for electrification. Each electrified truck would help slash 76 tons of carbon emissions per truck each year.
Jan. 30, 2023
Donal Finegan, an energy storage researcher at NREL, will conduct cutting-edge research on next-generation electric vehicle batteries with funding from the ARPA-E Electric Vehicles for American Low-carbon Living (EVs4ALL) initiative.
Jan. 26, 2023
Staffers from NREL were honored for their work in helping move the country further away from the use of fossil fuels. The Secretary of Energy Achievement Award ranks as the highest form of recognition for federal and contractor employees within the department (DOE).
Jan. 24, 2023
To reduce the emissions from natural gas service, blending hydrogen into natural gas pipelines could prove to be a promising, cost-effective pathway.
Jan. 19, 2023
For its 10th cohort, the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN²) formed an all-demonstration group where each participant would scope and perform a demonstration of their technologies. The key part of NineDot Energy's success is understanding the time and place to improve the grid. During the past summer, NineDot Energy installed a demonstration of its vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging system in Brooklyn, New York.
Jan. 19, 2023
Using ultramodern capabilities and world-class laboratory facilities, NREL's energy storage researchers continue to push battery boundaries with materials development, thermal management, diagnostics, and modeling.
Jan. 18, 2023
In 2022, the Biden-Harris administration set an audacious goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050—and, in doing so, decarbonize the entire U.S. economy.
