Traffic jams, road safety, air pollution, high maintenance costs, and the rise in energy prices are only a few of the factors that currently contribute to the adoption of alternative, innovative ways of transportation worldwide. Let’s check together what’s going on around the planet.
In Norway
Norway is considered one of the leaders in smart mobility transportation. Ruter, the company that is responsible for the mobility systems in the capital, is working to make the entire region emission-free by the next 10 years. This includes buses and taxis, but also boats.
In Bergen, instead, they opened 2 of the 10 mobility hubs located close to the public transportation stops so that people could find free parking slots for car sharing, charge stations (since the majority of vehicles are expected to be electric) and bicycle parking as well. “The main objective of mobility hubs is to provide a focal point for and access to different modes of green transportation, so that they become a genuinely competitive alternative to owning and driving a private car,” said mobility adviser Lars Ove Kvalbein.
In India
The global traffic congestion ranking has 3 Indian cities in the top 10 list, indicating that this is one of the main issues in the country. However, the government is putting different plans into action to create smart transportation options, including funicular railways, free shuttle services (from nearby metro stations to all Genpact sites), electric cable cars, and Inland Water Transport (IWT). The minister of road transport also announced to promote more multi-terrain vehicles that can travel on road and water, sand and snow (actually the first aeroboat was built by Indo-Russian joint venture).
In Mumbai, they’re also working on other smart solutions: the Rs 1,000-crore project will connect the east with the west by a 9km ropeway (estimations say it could carry 4,000-5,000 people per hour, just one way).
In Slovakia
In Slovakia, the aviation company Klein Vision is developing a flying car that will be powered by gasoline. Its name is AirCar, and it completed its first trip a few months ago, in June 2022, flying from Nitra to Bratislava and switching to driving mode in only 3 minutes once it arrived at the airport. Estimations say it could drive 200 miles per hour and a single tank could last for 3 hours. Therefore, it’s what Zajac Anton, one of the leaders of the project, announced: “the turning point from science fiction into reality”.
In Spain
Electric cars have gained a lot of attention in the past few years, and some of the main drawbacks have always been the short life of batteries and the need for charge stations close by. But the future of EV batteries is predicted to change significantly. The Spanish company Graphenano is developing a brand-new battery type called Graphene that has a 500-mile range and charges quickly (we’re talking about a matter of minutes).
In Sweden
Sweden has also been working on alternative methods to charge electric vehicles, and they have developed charging roads. The idea behind it is the same as wireless phone charging, but with moving vehicles. "Tests are showing that the efficiency of the energy flow from the asphalt to the car is comparable to the typical efficiency of fast charging stations, so the driver does not need to stop to recharge," said project leader at Stellantis.
In Scotland
A few months ago, in April 2022, Scotland began testing driverless buses with the intention of carrying nearly 40 passengers at a time (more than 10,000 per week).
In China
The multinational company Baidu, which has its headquarters in Beijing, recently announced Apollo Go, their new version of a self-driving taxi, which includes vending machines, desks, and games, for a lower price. The most important news is, indeed, the lower cost, which amounts to £31,000, almost half of the price of the previous models.
Conclusion
Digitalization is shaping the automotive industry in different ways, from automation to remote control and repair, to new car-sharing business models, to specialized insurance plans, and so on. In 2020, when digitalization got a big boost, more than 100 organizations launched the Circular Cars Initiative (CCI) to reduce CO2 emissions (in particular those associated with manufacturing). The goal is to produce zero waste and zero emissions during the entire process of production, use, and disposal, in particular to achieve an automobility system grounded within a 1.5°C climate scenario by 2030, according to the World Economic Forum.
What do you think will be the scenario in 15 years?
Using our platform, SCOUT, we at MAPEGY can get comprehensive overviews of all cutting-edge technologies, trends, experts, organizations, scientific breakthroughs, and social and political changes in a matter of seconds.
For instance, we could thoroughly investigate the predictions made for the automotive industry, particularly with regard to EV batteries. In the image below, you can see the Forecast Panel, which offers you a peek into the future by listing news articles that make predictions about your search query (as said, we chose EV battery recycling in this specific case).
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The Forecast Panel from MAPEGY'S InnovationGraph
Think of this feature as automated technology forecasting by mining for expert opinions on future developments. Cool, right? The Forecast timeline on top shows the years for which MAPEGY’s algorithm identified forecasts. Click on one of the bubbles in order to display those forecasts in the table below and... happy SCOUTing!
For further insights, contact us! We'd be happy to guide you through our platform :)
References
https://www.theexplorer.no/stories/smart-cities2/smart-transportation-essential-for-smart-cities/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwgO2XBhCaARIsANrW2X0zPq4QTsjXPHL3fZrnJPfhLX9f62vRmIbJu6LyLKBivH5jDnHt_QIaAjBpEALw_wcB
https://www.theexplorer.no/stories/smart-cities2/bergen-leads-the-way-for-shared-mobility-in-norway/
https://www.theexplorer.no/stories/transportation2/public-transport-of-the-future-more-than-just-emission-free/
https://www.makaan.com/iq/news-views/innovative-transport-alternatives-that-could-drive-smart-cities
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-62237612
https://thepointsguy.com/news/worlds-first-gas-powered-flying-car/
https://www.greencars.com/guides/the-future-of-ev-batteries#:~:text=A%20company%20called%20Graphenano%20is,faster%20than%20lithium%2Dion%20batteries
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-61216302
https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/06/24/wireless-charging-roads-for-electric-cars-ev-technology-is-here-fiat-stellantis