The Transport Research Arena (TRA) has gathered experts from around the world in Lisbon to discuss the foremost challenges on the path to decarbonise transport by 2050, in line with the goals set by the European Green Deal of making Europe the first carbon neutral continent.
Each day has focused on a specific issue, on the third day, infrastructure being in the spotlight. Building on the concerns expressed on Monday about transport infrastructure not being able to keep up with the technological advancements that can support the sector’s green transition, the experts revealed the most difficult obstacles that have to be overcome and put forward some solutions.
First and foremost, in order to deploy new or adapt existing infrastructure, heavy investment is needed and this has to be shared between public and private funding. “Tesla has deployed its charging infrastructure, but it only works for Tesla”, João Caetano, President of the Portuguese Institute for Mobility and Transport, explained. “If all electric vehicle manufacturers deployed their private charging infrastructure in public spaces, we will not have any public space left to play football for example.” Moreover, public funding ensures that the burden of modernizing the infrastructure is not passed down to consumers.
At the level of the European Commission there is a clear intensified cooperation between DG ENER and DG MOVE to make sure the issues [regarding the electrification of transport] are being tackled together, so they are then able to give clear guidelines to the public as well as private sector.
Dirk Beckers, Director at CINEA – European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency
Electrification is one of the tools used for decarbonising transport, be it switching diesel and coal locomotives with electric ones, the uptake of electric vehicles or the advancements made in electric airplanes. The process is fully dependent on the availability of reliable renewable energy sources, which is why close collaboration between the transport and energy sectors is crucial for a successful, sustainable and reliable transport electrification. “Energy and transportation are inherently linked (…) we cannot be in a silo on this issue”, said Alasdair Cain, Director of Research, Development and Technology Coordination at the US Department of Transportation (DoT), adding that the US Departments for Energy and Transport need to collaborate.
Until infrastructure that can support the green transition of transport is deployed, “the most urgent thing that we can do today is to make sure the infrastructure we have today can work well, is well connected and digitalized”, stressed Pietro D’Arpa, Vice-president Supply Chain at Procter & Gamble Europe, adding that in the meantime we need to “accelerate the transfer from road to rail and boat, which we believe is the best short-term solution for reducing CO2 emissions. It is not the final solution, but it is a step in the right direction.”
