Transportation Research News

Explore our archive of transportation and mobility research news stories.

March 7, 2024

Electric Aircrafts Will Need Powerful Ports

An important consideration for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft is where they will charge and whether the existing power grid infrastructure can accommodate this demand.

March 5, 2024

NREL's Rail Optimization Software Is Putting Freight Electrification on the Fast Track

Combined, two first-in-the-world products—NREL's ALTRIOS rail optimization software and Parallel Systems' autonomous battery-electric rail vehicles—aim to help shift a portion of the freight currently carried by on-road trucks to rail, catalyzing decarbonization across the whole transportation sector.

March 4, 2024

How Many Transformers Will US Distribution Grid Need by 2050?

New NREL research is providing first-of-its-kind modeling to help curb the current shortage of distribution transformers and ensure a reliable and resilient power grid.

Feb. 27, 2024

NREL's Recyclable Carbon Fiber Composites Made Greener With Thermoforming

Senior polymer science researcher and group manager Nicholas Rorrer currently leads a team of NREL researchers working to replace the heavy, resource-intensive steel parts in vehicles with recyclable carbon fiber composites.

Feb. 20, 2024

Clean Bus Planning Awards Support Fleet Electrification With Custom Transition Plans

Transit and school bus fleets across the nation are working hard to incorporate clean transportation solutions that help communities meet decarbonization goals and improve local health outcomes.

Feb. 13, 2024

Unleashing the Power: BatMan Project Revolutionizes Battery Manufacturing

A recent battery manufacturing project—affectionately coined BatMan—has developed a novel laser patterning process to alter the microstructure of battery electrode materials.

Jan. 29, 2024

Shashank Yellapantula Receives American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Fellow Designation

Shashank Yellapantula, senior staff scientist in NREL's Computational Science Center, was recognized as a 2024 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Associate Fellow.

Jan. 29, 2024

On the Ground in Colorado, NREL Is Simulating Sustainable Aviation Fuel Combustion During Flight

A cross-disciplinary research team is gathering meticulous fuel chemistry data to equip the aviation industry with an ultra-detailed sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) combustion simulation. Powered by supercomputers, the "virtual jet engine" can predict how SAF performs during flight and provide insights on how to tune it to maximize its safety and performance.

Jan. 19, 2024

John Kisacikoglu Tapped To Lead IEEE's Transportation Systems Committee

Mithat John Kisacikoglu has been tapped to lead the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Transportation Systems Committee (TSC), which focuses on electrification of the entire transportation sector.

Jan. 18, 2024

Computational Mobility Scientist Honored With Colorado Governor's Award for High-Impact Research

In just three years as a researcher at NREL, K. Shankari successfully enabled communities to collect impactful multimodal data and went on detail to the U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to ensure the reliable buildout of a national electric vehicle charging network.

Jan. 9, 2024

News Release: Green Wheels, Bright Skies: NREL Analysis Unveils the Connection Between Electric Vehicles and Photovoltaics

People who own electric vehicles are more likely to go a step further and add solar panels to their home, according to an analysis of a behavioral study by researchers at NREL.

Jan. 4, 2024

NREL To Showcase Research at Transportation Research Board Meeting

Transportation and mobility researchers will showcase their latest research at the 103rd Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Jan. 7–11, 2024 in Washington, D.C.

Jan. 3, 2024

NREL's Expert Contributions to Renowned Climate Change Assessment Strengthen Leaders' Ability To Make Informed Decisions

Three NREL researchers recently had the opportunity to contribute to the landmark Fifth National Climate Assessment, sharing NREL’s expertise and learning from other leaders at the table.

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