Mobility Systems

NREL's mobility systems research approaches transportation as a network of travelers, services, and environments—rather than merely vehicles and roads—leveraging connectivity and automation to optimize mobility, convenience, and energy efficiency.

Researchers explore strategies with the potential to reshape how people and goods move, strengthen the domestic economy, and reduce travel time and costs. These efforts aim to maximize benefits while minimizing unintended impacts, such as increased congestion and energy use resulting from induced travel.

Research and Development

Aligned with NREL's vehicle systems analysis, this work takes an integrated, systems-level approach to addressing national energy challenges. Researchers develop novel solutions to connect vehicles, buildings, and infrastructure through coordinated automation and connectivity.

• Connectivity With the Built Environment
  Traveler-to-traveler, vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-grid, and vehicle-to-building connectivity to support a reliable power grid through the use of vehicles to balance building and utility electricity loads, provide energy storage and backup power, integrate transportation systems with the built environment, and support efficient trip choices

• Customized Public Mobility
  Developing customized on-demand transit solutions in partnership with communities and transit agencies across the nation to maximize optimized, accessible, and efficient mobility
  
  
• Vehicle Automation
  Automated vehicle controls to improve convenience, safety, and energy savings; adaptive cruise control and connected and automated truck technologies to allow vehicles to travel closer together, reducing drag, congestion, and energy consumption
  
  
• Decision Science
  Understanding travel behavior and consumer choice leading to increased travel and mode choice 
  
  
• Integrated Transportation System Management
  Optimum travel mode, time, and route selection based on road conditions, traffic flow, and travel preferences to reduce traffic congestion and miles traveled, while increasing efficiencies
  
  
• Systems and Modeling for Accelerated Research in Transportation Mobility
  Multilaboratory effort to further understand the implications and opportunities of advanced mobility solutions that are time-, cost-, and energy-efficient; focuses on connectivity and automation, integrated multimodal freight transportation systems, urban science, and alternative fueling infrastructure

Check out the U.S. Department of Energy SMART Mobility webinar series for research results and insights about connectivity and automation, multimodal travel, transportation electrification, and freight.

Integrated Data and Analysis Tools

Bolstered by world-class computational science and high-performance computing capabilities, our integrated data and analysis tools inform the development of innovative mobility technologies and systems.

EVI-Pro: Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Projection Tool

EVI-X Modeling Suite of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Analysis Tools

FASTSim: Future Automotive Systems Technology Simulator

HIVE: Highly Integrated Vehicle Ecosystem Simulation Framework

MEP: Mobility Energy Productivity Tool

NREL OpenPATH: Open Platform for Agile Trip Heuristics

TSDC: Transportation Secure Data Center

See our full collection of tools.

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