Global Centers Track 1: CLEETS - CLean Energy and Equitable Transportation Solutions

Started

Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Energy system analysis)
Energy Efficiency(Transport)
Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Environmental, social and economic impacts)

Basic and strategic applied research
Training

PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Applied Mathematics)
PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Computer Science and Informatics)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Electrical and Electronic Engineering)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Architecture and the Built Environment)
SOCIAL SCIENCES (Economics and Econometrics)
SOCIAL SCIENCES (Town and Country Planning)
SOCIAL SCIENCES (Business and Management Studies)
SOCIAL SCIENCES (Law)
SOCIAL SCIENCES (Sociology)

Systems Analysis related to energy R&D
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy
Other (Energy technology information dissemination)

Dr J Radcliffe
Electronic, Electrical and Computer Eng
University of Birmingham

Standard

EPSRC

01 December 2023

30 November 2028

60 months

£5,310,564

Energy

West Midlands

UKRI Strategic Theme Building a Green Future

Dr J Radcliffe, Electronic, Electrical and Computer Eng, University of Birmingham

Dr M Albano, Engineering, Cardiff University
Dr PA Anderson, School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham
Dr S Bartington, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham
Professor W Bloss, Sch of Geography, Earth & Env Sciences, University of Birmingham
Dr L Chapman, Sch of Geography, Earth & Env Sciences, University of Birmingham
Dr L M Cipcigan, Engineering, Cardiff University
Dr C Cooper, Computer Science, Cardiff University
Dr D Dissanayake, Sch of Geography, Earth & Env Sciences, University of Birmingham
Dr PI Jones, Sch of Geography, Earth & Env Sciences, University of Birmingham
Dr N Mehta, Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham
Dr D Potoglou, Cardiff School of Planning and Geography, Cardiff University
Dr AD Quinn, Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham
Professor O Rana, Computer Science, Cardiff University
Dr L Reardon, INLOGOV, University of Birmingham
Dr N Saxena, Computer Science, Cardiff University
Professor D Wass, Chemistry, Cardiff University

Transport energy demand accounts for 24% of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK, the single largest sector, more than energy supply, business or residential. 90% of these transport emissions are from road transport: 52% from cars, 16% from vans, and 19% from HGVs. Clean energy solutions are becoming available, in particular through battery electric vehicles and the use of hydrogen. They will have a wide societal impact, bringing benefits through reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and on local air quality to improve health outcomes.However, there are multiple barriers to deployment of these technologies, including how such a system transformation that relies on expensive and extensive infrastructure change can be implemented, and there are risks that uptake of the solutions will have unequal benefits for different communities.The Global Center on CLean Energy and Equitable Transportation Solutions (CLEETS) will provide the evidence base for decision making for transport decarbonization, from rigorous interdisciplinary research on, and robust analysis of, the potential clean energy solutions, their impacts across society, and how to overcome the challenges of implementation.The West Midlands and South Wales regions of the UK, and the Great Lakes Megaregion, are road transport hubs, with significant manufacturing industries including in the automotive sector. Patterns of transport demand, and politicalstructures are different, but the ambitions to decarbonize are shared. The regions will be case study areas that allow us to test methodologies and develop system solutions that can be applied globally.Research is needed to improve our understanding of how we can decarbonize transport equitably, and what impacts that will have. Our research will be delivered through 'Thrusts' in:- Clean and equitable transportation: studying the interventions required to deploy clean energy transportation technologies, and modelling emissions at a local scale.- Transport energy infrastructure: assessing how to achieve net-zero infrastructure resilience in transportation and energy systems, and resource implications of the technologies.- Climate change: analysing the cascading effects of decarbonizing transport, helping to mitigate climate change impacts, reduce vulnerability to hazardous events and improve health outcomes.Crosscutting research will consider issues across these Thrusts, integrating and converging knowledge from the project as a whole, in the UK and US:- Decision support tools for energy and climate justice: by developing a visual analytics decision support tool that integrates participatory and iterative design approaches.- Public health and economic impact of decarbonization pathways: our assessment of health impacts, disease cases, and economic costs will combine the WM-Air Air Quality Lifecourse Assessment Tool with the decision-support toolkit.- Governance and policy to support decarbonization pathways, including regulation, funding, taxation, and research, where local governments will play an important role in shepherding innovation to maturity.- Data and cyber security: building a platform that understands the multiplied dependencies between transport, energy and smart city systems.- Coupled Infrastructure Systems: developing a model for energy-transportation transitions, including the 'hard' engineering infrastructure, and 'soft' infrastructure of institutions and organisational structures.The project will also have an educational platform, allowing for the exchange of undergraduate and postgraduate students between the UK and US, and to learn from the research being undertaken by research groups in both countries.

20/12/23