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Pressrelease | 2015-07-09

Shifting to a low carbon transport system

The Nordic Energy Research has commissioned IVL 28 million SEK to lead a so called flagship project focusing on energy efficient transport systems. Shift, Sustainable Horizons for Transport, will run for four years and investigate the potential for the Nordic countries to enable a sustainable transport system.

– The aim of the project is to help our politicians and authorities make wiser decisions. We will investigate how the Nordic countries can achieve efficient and sustainable freight transport and smarter mobility solutions, and assess the policy instruments that can drive this process, says Markus Wråke, project manager at IVL. The transport sector’s role in the energy system is at core. Scenario modelling, long-distance freight and passenger transport in cities are areas of particular focus. The project will run for almost four years starting in autumn 2015. It is hoped that when the project is concluded Nordic politicians and authorities with influence over energy policies and transport changeovers will have gained a better understanding of intelligent transport systems. – We know that the forces that drive change in energy and transport systems come from widely different areas: technological solutions advance in bounds and leaps and new business models and social norms evolve along with them. We have assembled a fantastic team of Nordic researchers with expertise from many fields of research that will permit us to take all these aspects into account, says Markus Wråke. Transport is one of the biggest challenges that must be overcome before climate targets can be achieved, but there are encouraging signs. Shipping companies are interested in the benefits of multi-modal solutions and new technologies to improve efficiency while reducing costs and emissions. In addition, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute researchers have teamed up with scientists from the Technical University of Denmark, the Norwegian Institute of Transport Economics and Viktoria Swedish ICT, as well as industry stakeholders and policy makers in order to better understand these trends, and the way in which policy instruments can affect development. – The Nordic region is in many ways an ideal test bed for exploring both technical solutions and finding out how international cooperation can facilitate the transition of entire energy systems. To seize these opportunities and overcome any obstacles all stakeholders must have a better understanding of how transport and energy systems interact with each other. This is the very essence of Shift and I'm very proud of the contribution we are able to make to the project, concludes Markus Wråke. For more information, please contact: Markus Wråke, markus.wrake@ivl.se

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