The Potential Role of Flying Vehicles in Progressing the Energy Transition

Abstract

An energy transition is in progress around the globe, notably led by an increase in the deployment of renewable energy and a shift toward less emissions-intense options, notably in the transportation sector. This research investigates the potential role that new transportation options, namely flying vehicles, may play toward progressing the energy transition. As flying vehicles are a relatively new technology yet to penetrate the market, it is also prudent to consider the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) associated with their implementation, alongside the potential energy and environmental impacts. Through a review of ELSI and energy and environmental literature, we identify research gaps and identify how flying vehicles may impact upon the energy transition over time. Our research identifies several critical aspects of both ELSI and energy and environmental academia relevant to the future deployment of flying vehicles and describes a deployment timeline and the resultant societal outcomes. We find that flying vehicles could drive the energy transition and the hydrogen economy and that their widespread adoption could engender shared socio-environmental benefits. Our findings are relevant to transportation and environmental policymakers and identify critical considerations for the planned introduction of new, shared transportation options to the market, conducive to a sustainable energy transition.

Sustainable Transportation Solutions for Intelligent Mobility: A Focus on Renewable Energy and Technological Advancements for Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Flying Car

“…Stakeholders invested in promoting sustainable transportation solutions for electric vehicles (EVs) and flying cars can leverage insights from innovative approaches to renewable energy integration and carbon emission reduction (Chapman and Fujii, 2022). One promising avenue lies in the development of smart charging infrastructure that optimizes the utilization of renewable energy sources (Alkawsi et al, 2021).…”

From Anthropocene to Aerocene, through Biocene: Critical Reflections on the Future of Air Mobility

“…Electric vehicles may also decrease the pollution generated by noise and emissions in a city environment, but there are much deeper layers of climate-beneficial services to consider. As Andrew Chapman and Hidemichi Fujii argue in their assessment of the sustainable energy transition, "flying cars threaten to magnify the effects of both sociopolitical and environmental issues arising from short regional flight usage" (Chapman and Fujii 2022). The idea that electricity is "clean" is conveniently tied to the assumption that the electrical grid is sustained by renewable and clean energy inputs like solar and wind.…”

“…Electrification in the transport sector is not simply a matter of privatised eVTOL technology; it is an opportunity to think of urban mobility as a democratic movement (Stephens 2019) and a meaningful systemic transition. Chapman and Fujii (2022) conclude that "once a roadmap of the energy and infrastructure needs, desirable fuel sources, and potential use cases can be clearly defined, there is a strong need to evaluate flying vehicles from a sustainability point of view, i.e., to consider the economic, environmental, and social issues which emerge under a ho-listic framework". As the world confronts climate change, societies' energy transitions will also become an expression of democratisation, distribution, decentralisation, and localisation.…”

Coordinated Control Design for Ethical Maneuvering of Autonomous Vehicles

“…Initially, automation only brought about the appearance of individual active safety functionalities of the vehicle (e.g., anti-lock brakes, electronic brake assist), but it has now surpassed the boundaries of the vehicle and reached higher levels of the traffic system, e.g., as route planning via traffic information [1]. The impacts of vehicle automation on the traffic system and on the passengers using transportation services is becoming greater, and this will become even more pronounced with the gradual appearance of higher levels of autonomous driving [2]. Therefore, the automation of vehicles and transportation, especially the use of algorithms based on artificial intelligence applied in them, cannot be considered solely on technical level.…”