“Free”. The revolution you won't expect, in Genoa
The bet won by the Ligurian capital: free tickets and up to 55% lower fares to increase turnover. Here's how AMT, the company that manages public transport, did it
‘Undertourism’: here are 5 alternative destinations to overcrowded travel locations
Everyone knows the places overwhelmed by overtourism. Let's get away from tautologies and explore the most underrated places for a holiday, away from ‘crazy crowds’.
The man who realized utopia: Sam Altman and the Artificial Intelligence for all
It seemed like a fantasy, but now it is reality: machines that mimic the faculties of the human mind have arrived and are here to stay. Sam Altman has made Artificial Intelligence available to everyone, thanks to OpenAI. His creature, ChatGPT, poses questions to humans, which “Pioneers of the future” will tackle with the help of a neuroscientist and a totally unexpected guest.
To tax or not to tax? The Hamletic doubt on tolls that embarrasses New York
Approved after years of work and studies in December, Manhattan's congestion charge was to be the first ever implemented in the entire United States. It was scheduled to start on 30 June, but the toll to moderate traffic was postponed to an indefinite date a few days earlier: the Big Apple continues to hesitate without making a decision. Here are the issues that have caused a stalemate
We have technology, how do we use it? At the origin of smart cities with Municipia
Municipia implements the digital transformation of municipalities in safety, welfare, interactivity and mobility. Technology already offers many solutions, but coordination and maturity are needed at the administrative level. We talk about this with Stefano De Capitani, CEO of Municipia (Engineering Group), which has signed an MoU with Yunex for future collaborations in the ITS (Intelligent Transport System) sector and already worked in Pisa and Bologna
In the City that changes but remains Eternal: in Rome with Mint List
A city «slow in its global vision» but that «moves a lot in the daily»: it is Rome, in the story of Maria Azzurra Rossi, co-founder of Mint List, an advertising and communication agency. Here the transformations of mobility and urbanism have returned new life and interest to neighborhoods and squares, where the stories of millions of citizens, tourists and non-residents weave together
Editor's Hub
The condo's electric car: is it the sharing of the future? The bet on Genoa
Electric car sharing can become a reality in communities of residents who self-produce renewable energy. A change in habits and consumption is increasingly plausible, thanks in part to a 5.7 billion Italian plan for Renewable Energy Communities, approved by the EU. We discuss this with Maurizio Ferraris, Maps Energy Market Director
The condo's electric car: is it the sharing of the future? The bet on Genoa
Electric car sharing can become a reality in communities of residents who self-produce renewable energy. A change in habits and consumption is increasingly plausible, thanks in part to a 5.7 billion Italian plan for Renewable Energy Communities, approved by the EU. We discuss this with Maurizio Ferraris, Maps Energy Market Director
Car sharing is becoming increasingly electric, sustainable and ‘at home’. Thanks to the emergence and spread of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs), also favoured by a 5.7 billion incentive (state aid) scheme, approved for Italy by the EU and partly financed by NRRP resources, shared mobility is ready to make a further qualitative leap by coming even closer to the needs of those communities of users who share living spaces.
Maurizio Ferraris, Energy Market Director of Maps Group tells Infra Journal about this ‘vision’ and the projects being studied to bring condominium car sharing to life. A trend-setting project that will ride the energy transition and the green transformation of the real estate sector, as requested by Brussels, as well as the growing development of a new shared and integrated mobility. Moreover, sustainable alternatives to car ownership are attracting more and more interest.
Maps Group deals with the digitisation of energy: how does this world meet the new mobility projects?
“We are all-round digital players and we govern energy models such as those of the RECs which, while, on the one hand, will determine the growth in demand for innovative energy assets such as photovoltaic panels or storage plants, on the other, they will open the doors to a new software market, the one necessary for the management of the community itself.”
Are you a sort of ‘control centre’, then?
“We can say this since RECs are in fact an aggregation of consumers, producers and prosumers of energy from renewable sources who come together with the aim of sharing the energy produced by the same community members. In order for this objective to be achieved, it requires software capable of, on the one hand, coordinating all the community's energy assets in an aggregate manner, and on the other hand, guiding its members in their consumption choices, indicating the virtuous behaviours to be adopted to maximise the shared energy, so as to benefit the most from the incentive generated. Digital coordination is crucial.”
How did the idea of taking on REC and car sharing come about?
“It is a vision that we shared with our partner Elettra by Genova Car Sharing (Duferco Energia Group), starting from three key concepts which are community, sharing and mobility. Since there is a common goal of shared energy this can be introduced in many directions and mobility is one of them: these are complementary areas.”
What are the advantages of a REC condominium in this respect?
“There is an environmental advantage, then convenience and proximity make a further difference. The fact that we already share a common goal, such as energy, and that this can bring an additional economic benefit, such as having a mileage package with the electric car in the condominium, is crucial. In addition to sharing the production of renewable energy, and its virtual self-consumption, within the community it will be possible, in fact, to also share the electric car.”
How does this actually happen?
“By allocating the REC incentive to support the costs of the electric car.”
When will the pilot projects start and what will they look like?
“We will start in Genoa in the second quarter of the year because we are waiting for the regulatory framework on RECs to be complete with the passage to the Court of Auditors and GSE. Then, we will start with a trial lasting about one year that will cover five to ten realities.”
And following the pilot phase?
“We will start a concrete experimentation with partner Elettra through the provision of a fleet of electric sharing vehicles (cars first and foremost, but also bicycles, scooters and quadricycles, depending on requirements) with intelligent planning, on the Rose Energy Community software platform, of recharging to maximise shared energy and thus incentives, as well as timely reporting of CO₂ emissions avoided. All this will create a scale model with very precise rules and an integrated supply chain allowing the end consumer to have a ‘turnkey package’. This will require strong coordination between the players in the field.”
Aren't you frightened by the resistance still surrounding shared mobility?
“We look to the future and the new mobility will come through here, the new generations already have a different approach to the concept of ownership and mobility and we are convinced that shared and pay-per-use mobility is the future. Of course, it will take time, we do not see an ‘on-off’ effect, but the 2030 and 2050 environmental targets will facilitate things for us.”
Will the energy upgrading of houses be an important element?
“Recent research by PoliMi explains that energy efficiency in buildings will drive investment. This is not an option, but a road mapped out and there are already many real estate funds investing in this direction.”
So, the future is community car sharing?
“This approach involves a limited group of people, such as the inhabitants of a house or residents of the same street or neighbourhood, sharing a car. It sounds like a quantum leap, but it is possible. There is also an interesting side effect: while many motorists still avoid buying an expensive electric car, they can switch to cheap electric mobility in car sharing. Community car sharing offers advantages for the user and the environment: users benefit from flexible, comfortable and convenient mobility, the environment from fewer cars and an acceleration of electric cars.”
The 5 key actions to change the transports in a sustainable way
Changing technology or energy sources is not the only step to transform a sector that produces 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Efficient mobility services, more inclusive urban planning and barrier-free infrastructure are needed
The 5 key actions to change the transports in a sustainable way
Changing technology or energy sources is not the only step to transform a sector that produces 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Efficient mobility services, more inclusive urban planning and barrier-free infrastructure are needed
Achieving a net zero-emission future, containing global warming within 1.5 °C, protecting biodiversity and building a fair and equitable economy: the System Change Lab study centre has identified more than 70 decisive changes in this direction, for various human activities, of which five key actions concern the transport sector, from which 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions originate.
According to the workshop organised by the World Research Institute and Bezos Earth Fund, these are: ensuring reliable access to modern, safe mobility; reducing avoidable car and plane journeys; shifting to public, shared and non-motorised transport; transitioning to zero-carbon cars and trucks; and transitioning to zero-carbon navigation and aviation. These actions involve 13 objectives, identified through the scientific literature, industry papers and world climate conferences, following the ‘avoid-change-improve’ paradigm.
Ensuring reliable access to safe and modern mobility
Only 52 per cent of the global urban population has safe and affordable access to public transport, which is essential for vulnerable groups (women, children, low-income, minorities, the disabled and the elderly) in the social, economic and cultural life of communities.
Investment in transport brings benefits at every income level. Research in the United States, Brazil, Kenya and Mexico shows that affluent residents have better access to jobs and opportunities due to the location of homes in relation to transport infrastructure. People living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods spend more on transport and take longer to get to their destination, and in the US there is already a gap in access to the electric charging network.
Ensuring reliable access to safe and modern mobility is one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Road safety also remains important in a decarbonised world. The UN target of halving the number of deaths and injuries by 2030 (17 per 100,000 people in 2019) calls for accelerating ten times over the progress of recent years.
Reducing avoidable journeys by car and plane
Private car ownership has been central to many transport systems. In the busiest cities in the US, 48% of car journeys are less than three miles long, and GDP growth in emerging countries is driving up ownership as a status symbol. Traffic leads to the construction of bigger roads and motorways, triggering induced demand and, without change, there will be 2 billion cars on the road by 2050.
As a result, car trips increased from 39% to 44% of the total (distance travelled/passenger) between 2015 and 2020, in contrast to the 34-44% target for 2030.
Instead, urban planning can promote sustainability and encourage less carbon-intensive modes of transport; a car-free system must be created (e-scooters, bicycles, walking paths, public transport). This includes the ‘City of 15 minutes’, a better sharing system, private car taxes, congestion pricing, parking fees, reinvesting funds raised in public transport and teleworking.
Shifting to shared, non-motorised public transport
Building infrastructure does not guarantee that it will be used, but it is a necessary condition towards better mobility, not to mention that every dollar invested in public transport generates five in economic return. As services and infrastructure, for example, the rapid transport system (metro, trams and bus lanes), needs to grow 6x faster to get people to leave their cars at home.
Cyclists produce 84% less CO₂ emissions and active mobility and micro-mobility solutions could eliminate 50-70% of short car journeys (0-5 km). The limited availability of protected trails, weather conditions, topographical challenges and unfavourable social perceptions have blocked the widespread adoption of these solutions. Making roads safe will be essential, but to achieve the 2030 target (2 km of protected roads/1,000 inhabitants), progress must be 10x faster.
Transition to carbon-zero cars and trucks
Seventy-two per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in transport come from roads (2020), but the market in China, Europe and the US is about to change. The share of electric vehicles sold was 9% in 2021 (8.7% light commercial vehicles), and the forecast is 23% for 2025. In any case, further action is needed to reach 75-95% share by 2030, in a 1.5 °C scenario.
HGVs are most challenging to decarbonise. Governments could incentivise research and offer subsidies for the initial adoption of these vehicles, which face technological limitations such as battery energy density and recharging times (0.2% of electric vehicles sold in 2021). The share of electric buses sold was 44 per cent of the total in 2021, but large part in China, which also concentrates almost two thirds of the global charging network (1.76 million points in 2021).
The automotive sector will not be able to leave behind 2.4 million workers who will need reskilling or outplacement, while the increase in demand for raw materials has caused an increase in allegations of human rights violations in the metal and mineral extraction sector, from 11 to 61 cases in 2010-2021.
Nautical and aviation transition to carbon-zero
Shipping and commercial aviationcontribute 16% and 4% of GDP to the global economy. Seen as 'hard to decarbonise', both contribute 3% of CO₂ emissions, but the green future of these two sectors is expressed in two acronyms: SAF and ZEF.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel constituted less than 0.1 per cent in 2020 (expected 13-18 per cent in 2030 and 78-100 per cent in 2050), but airlines have signed agreements to buy 21 million tonnes in a delivery period of six months to 20 years. A coalition of 71 companies is supporting the acceleration to expand the knowledge base in this area.
There are about 200 pilot and demonstration projects to develop Zero Emission Fuels (synthetic, from green hydrogen and captured CO₂, e-methanol and Fischer Tropsch liquids), which have not yet entered the industry.
Media Hub
Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are the protagonists of a challenge never seen before in human history, between satellite launches and orbital flight. The world arising from the space economy will depend on them too: here are the tycoons of the planet with space interests, among successes, aspirations and few too many extravagances
A brilliant student who overturned all preconceptions and, starting from the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, established herself in the world as a pioneer of space and the emerging space economy: the story, ambitions and projects of Chiara Cocchiara, an award-winning aerospace engineer with a penchant for the red planet
How to imagine life in the neighbourhoods and streets, abandoning the car-centred perspective? Some urban projects and initiatives around the world are trying to imagine this
Green
Projects with a lower environmental impact and future-proof solutions for a sustainability that starts from the foundations.
It seemed like a fantasy, but now it is reality: machines that mimic the faculties of the human mind have arrived and are here to stay. Sam Altman has made Artificial Intelligence available to everyone, thanks to OpenAI. His creature, ChatGPT, poses questions to humans, which “Pioneers of the future” will tackle with the help of a neuroscientist and a totally unexpected guest.
Infrastructure
The possible evolutions of digital, materials and innovation, at the service of those who design.
Mobility
Ideas, scenarios and data to better frame the mobility sector that can change everyone’s way of life.
Everyone knows the places overwhelmed by overtourism. Let's get away from tautologies and explore the most underrated places for a holiday, away from ‘crazy crowds’.
Technology
All the latest news from the world of technology. Up-to-date editorials, data and in-depth articles.
Travel
Moving, creating relationships and approaching what is far away using the most innovative resources of science and engineering.