AI could be the answer to transport decarbonisation

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day, reviewed by our editorial team. Read the full piece on Energy Live News or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Researchers at Cranfield University have developed a standardised digital-twin framework designed to help policymakers and industry test how road, rail, aviation and maritime transport can cut emissions

🔭 The context: Digital twins are real-time, data-driven virtual models of physical systems, but their use in transport has so far been fragmented across areas such as EV charging, traffic management and fleet operations
• Developed through the UK research hub TransiT, the new framework combines vehicles, infrastructure, energy, climate factors, data systems and human decision-making in one digital environment
• Researchers reviewed more than 100 academic studies and analysed over 10,000 records to build the model

🌍 Why it matters: A common digital framework could allow governments and businesses to compare decarbonisation strategies across different transport modes before committing significant capital or infrastructure
• Potential applications include assessing trade-offs between electric vehicles, sustainable aviation fuels and shifts between different forms of freight transport

⏭️ What’s next: Researchers say the framework now needs further testing and real-world pilot projects before it can be deployed more widely to support transport and decarbonisation policy

📈 One stat: The team analysed more than 10,000 records alongside over 100 academic studies when developing the framework

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