Ashley Nunes, Harvard Law School
Ashley Nunes, Harvard Law School
SBBI Seminar: "Forecasting the Energy Implications of Electric, Autonomous Fleets"
SBBI Seminar: "Forecasting the Energy Implications of Electric, Autonomous Fleets"
13 Nov 202010:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Harvard community only
Energy demand in land transportation is significant. In the United States alone, gasoline
consumption averages nearly 400 million gallons daily, most of which is used by light-duty
vehicles. Though exercise of these vehicles facilitates economic mobility, negative
externalities persist. Internal combustion engines (ICE) - used to propel most light
duty vehicles – convert a fraction of stored energy into propulsion, thereby producing
consumption inefficiencies. ICE powered vehicles are also - owing to their reliance
on fossil-fuels - a dominant source of air pollutants, exposure to which increases
societal morbidity and mortality risk. Can electric, autonomous vehicles help?
In this talk, we explore the energy impact of deploying electric, autonomous taxis.
We leverage publicly available data to develop an energy forecasting model. Our results
show that the adoption of electric powertrains coupled with higher levels of automation
represent a viable pathway towards reducing energy consumption though not necessarily
CO2 emissions. Our results further identify the factors that affect the ability of
electric, autonomous taxis to compete with the status quo. We explore the implications
of our findings for public policy.
Location:
Zoom Link Forthcoming
Organizer:
Ashley Nunes is a Research Fellow in the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School. He is also a lecturer in the Department of Economics at Harvard College and previously held research appointments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the U.S. Department of Transportation. Dr. Nunes earned his Ph.D from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.