• The intelligent urban environment has to apply programmes to reduce energy consumption and emissions
• The Innovation Partnership for Smart Cities and Communities launches projects aimed to establish strategic partnerships between European industries and cities for the development and implementation of urban infrastructure systems (energy, transport and IT)
• EU has published the Strategy on clean fuels aimed to reduce oil dependency and to promote a sustainable transport system
European transport is 94% dependent on oil, 84.3% of which imported and confronted with the instability of delivery as it originates from troubled regions of the world and the high cost of oil imports (EUR 1 Billion/day in 2011) generates a deficit of the balance of trade of around 2.5% of the GDP. As a result, EU’s transport system has to vary its energy sources.
According to the Transport Strategy for 2050, the EU plans to reduce the oil dependency of transport and proposes a 60% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (by 2050). Transport energy efficiency and efficient transport management can substantially contribute to reducing emissions and oil consumption. Although not an alternative to replacing oil, they can become a platform between alternative fuels which EU believes to be the ultimate solution to eliminating the carbon footprint of transport.
Across the EU, the current share of renewable energy in transport is of 4.7%, of which bio fuels stood at 4.4% (in 2010). According to the national action plans on renewable energy sources submitted at the end of 2010, member states plan to achieve the 10% objective and want to use around 8.5% of the first generation of bio fuels, 1% of the second generation of bio fuels and 1% electric energy from renewable sources used in railway transport.
Given the fact that three quarters of the European citizens live in urban areas and consume 70% of the electric energy, it is obviously essential for cities to shift towards a sustainable economy. Based on this remark, in 2012 EC launched the Innovation Partnership for Smart Cities and Communities (SCC) aimed to encourage the development of intelligent technologies by bringing together the energy, transport and IT research resources. These smart technologies will be applied in se-
veral pilot projects and then implemented in partnership with the cities, their financing amounting to EUR 365 Million for 2013. Initially, the project received EUR 81 Million in 2012 only for the transport and energy sectors, and as of 2013, the allocated budget increased to cover all the three domains on condition it would implement different schemes that combine all three segments.
The initiative was launched to support cities and communities to meet their commitments in the energy and transport sectors as regards air quality and the fight against climate change. Phase I refers to the orientation of the work program for 2013 on EU’s Framework Programme 7 on research (FP7) to reflect the integrated character of transport, energy and IT in the cities. These projects need to be completed with demand-related measures such as the development of new business models, encouraging acquisitions with innovating solutions and raising new standards on the improvement of the regulation framework. Financing sources in conformity with the opportunities of the Multiannual Financial Framework, including Horizon 2020, will be used. This phase will focus on larger projects connected to other national and urban programmes. Projects will approach problems at the junction between transport, energy and IT and could generate strategic innovation partnerships between companies active in the three sectors. They should also create strong partnerships between local leaders and municipal authorities to obtain vital support and the necessary visibility to persuade citizens and interested parties to contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and to improve the urban environment.
In the urban transport segment, energy and fuelling infrastructure and the operation of vehicle fleets powered by alternative energy carriers for public transport, freight distribution, alternative transport options and private transport using ICT-based solutions for urban traffic and transport management supporting the reduction of energy consumption and emissions. They also include electric public transport vehicles (for example trolley buses, trams, metro vehicles) that are able to exchange surplus energy (braking and accelerating energy) with the energy system – using ICT to manage energy flows.
Matching energy supply from distributed renewable electricity generation in buildings with forecast energy demand from buildings and transport, using smart electric vehicle charging systems and smart electricity grid networks, controlled by ICT are also envisaged, as well as using hydrogen as an energy carrier for storing energy and balancing demand at city level for energy and stationary power – controlled by ICT using forecasts for demand patterns based on weather forecasts, event planning, vehicle route patterns, etc.
Clean fuel strategy seeks to change transport structure
Next to this strategy focused on reducing energy consumption and emissions, on encouraging electric transport and varying energy resources, on 24 January 2013, EC launched an ambitious package of mea-sures aimed to develop alternative fuel stations all over Europe with common design and operation standards. So far, policy initiatives have mainly concerned the fuels and the vehicles, without considering the distribution of fuels and stimulation mea-sures have not been coordinated and thus proved to be inefficient.
Clean fuels face three main challenges referring to the high cost of vehicles, a reduced level of acceptance from users and the lack of refuelling and supply stations. It is a vicious circle: refuelling stations are not built because there are not enough vehicles and they are not sold at competitive prices because there is no sufficient demand.
Users don’t buy vehicles because their price is high and because there are not enough stations. Consequently, the Commission proposes the set-up of a package of mandatory objectives for member states as regards the infrastructure dedicated to clean fuels, such as electric energy, hydrogen and natural gas, as well as the joint EU standards for necessary equipments.
“Developing innovative alternative fuels is an obvious method of increasing the efficiency of using resources in Europe, of reducing the excessive oil dependency and of promoting a transport sector capable to answer to the requirements of the 21st century”, believes European Commissioner for Transport Siim Kallas.
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