Category: Transportation

The future of freight transportation has officially arrived — and it no longer includes a driver behind the wheel. Aurora, a Pittsburgh-based autonomous vehicle startup, has launched the first-ever commercial self-driving trucking service on public roads in the United States.

The company’s autonomous trucks are now actively transporting goods between Dallas and Houston, Texas. This groundbreaking development marks a pivotal moment in transportation history, as Aurora becomes the first to commercially operate heavy-duty self-driving trucks over long distances. So far, the company has logged more than 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometers) in real-world traffic conditions.

As the holiday season approaches, many drivers hit the road with an ever-present concern: the risk of accidents and unsafe drivers. With the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reporting approximately 40,000 fatalities on U.S. roads each year, the urgency to improve road safety has never been greater. Experts believe that technology could play a key role in keeping drivers safer in the years ahead. In the next 12 to 15 years, the majority of vehicles in the U.S. could be equipped with C-V2X, or Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything communications—a technology that could transform the way cars interact with each other and their environment.

C-V2X enables cars to “talk” to one another in real-time, helping prevent collisions before they happen. “It’s cars communicating with each other so they don’t crash into each other,” explained Dr. Billy Kihei, an Assistant Professor at Kennesaw State University in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He believes this technology has the potential to significantly reduce accidents, especially those involving impaired drivers.

Vehicles powered by diesel are a significant source of carbon emissions, posing a considerable challenge on the path to decarbonization. In 2022, diesel fuel was responsible for roughly 25% of carbon dioxide emissions from transportation in the U.S. and about 10% of overall energy-related emissions, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. To tackle this problem, researchers have developed a groundbreaking method to convert carbon dioxide into a cleaner, more sustainable fuel—electro-biodiesel.

Joshua Yuan, from the Department of Energy, Environmental, and Chemical Engineering at Washington University, and Susie Dai, a professor at the University of Missouri, have pioneered a process that uses electrocatalysis to convert carbon dioxide into electro-biodiesel. This new method is 45 times more efficient and requires 45 times less land compared to traditional soybean-based biodiesel production, offering a more sustainable alternative.

Student transportation leader First Student and utility company Con Edison have launched an innovative vehicle-to-everything (V2X) Smart Energy Hub in Brooklyn, featuring 12 solar-roofed electric school buses. Located at First Student’s Malta Street site, the project is set to replace traditional diesel buses with clean energy-powered alternatives. Solar panels on the buses and rooftop arrays at the facility combine to create a sustainable system for energy generation, battery storage, and power delivery.

First Student has employed its trenchless First Charge deployment method, which eliminates the need for extensive digging, cuts construction costs by at least 30%, and simplifies future charging system upgrades. This technology provides a faster, more efficient rollout, minimizing disruption and expense.

Wheels are essential for cars, trucks, bikes, and wheelchairs, yet their limitations on uneven surfaces often confine wheelchair users to smooth, flat terrain. The same challenge applies to mobile robots. Recognizing this, a team of Korean researchers has developed a groundbreaking adaptive wheel that changes shape in real-time, allowing for smoother travel over obstacles and rough terrains, revolutionizing off-road mobility.

Reimagining the Wheel

While the idea of “reinventing the wheel” might seem like an exaggeration, this innovation builds on a history of transformative wheel designs. Years ago, Hankook, in collaboration with Seoul National University and Harvard, created origami-inspired wheels that could change shape. Earlier still, graduate student Ackeem Ngwenya developed the “Roadless” wheel system, where the tread adjusted from narrow to wide with a simple screw turn. Even NASA contributed with its nickel-titanium alloy tires, which could deform under pressure and return to their original shape.

In collaboration with industry partners and research institutions, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is pioneering efforts to make battery-powered trucks a viable option for long-distance cargo transport. A significant advancement in this mission is the introduction of megawatt charging technology. On Friday, at the Plattling Technology Campus, the first prototypes were unveiled to the public, with the Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs, Hubert Aiwanger, in attendance. This new technology allows for a truck’s battery to be charged within the regulatory rest period, providing 4.5 hours of operation without additional waiting time.

In Germany, approximately 70% of freight transport, in terms of volume and distance, relies on road transportation, predominantly using diesel-powered trucks. This reliance contributes significantly to environmental pollution, with 40% of the transport-related CO2 emissions (148 million tons) stemming from freight transport. Transitioning from diesel to electric power presents substantial environmental benefits. Under the leadership of the Chair of Automotive Technology at TUM, the NEFTON research consortium is developing the necessary technical and infrastructure solutions to facilitate this switch.

A groundbreaking collaboration between Angel Trains, TransPennine Express (TPE), Turntide Technologies, and Hitachi Rail has led to the retrofitting of a TransPennine Express ‘Nova 1’ Class 802 train with a cutting-edge battery system. Developed by Turntide Technologies in Sunderland, the battery unit boasts a peak power of over 700 kilowatts and is designed to replace one of the train’s three diesel engines. Impressively, the battery matches the acceleration and performance levels of the diesel engine it replaces, without adding extra weight to the train.

Hitachi Rail projects that this battery technology could reduce emissions and fuel costs by up to 30%. This substantial reduction in environmental impact and operational expenses marks a significant advancement in the rail industry’s efforts to combat climate change and enhance sustainability.