• Energy Research
• 9. Industry and infrastructure close
• English close
• Transport Research close
• Energy Research close

Freight transport has emerged as one of the most critical and dynamic aspects of the transport sector where change has become the norm. It is now the main element supporting global commodity and more generally supply chains. Yet the lack of seamlessness and inefficiencies in general as well as the rising costs and complexities of shipping and delivering goods are adding to profit pressures faced by manufacturers across the globe. Our paper first discusses the concept of seamlessness, and then examines some of the consequences of the lack of seamlessness in terms of freight transport inefficiencies. We then begin to examine the new developments in which intermodality, technology (e-commerce), and logistics are changing and will have the impact of heightening competitive advantage and reducing constraint points in production value chains and global production networks. Finally the intent is to show how research on this theme might be advanced in a trans-Atlantic framework.

Modern power systems face different challenges such as the ever-increasing electrical energy demand, the massive growth of renewable energy with distributed generations, the large-scale Internet of Things (IoT) devices adaptation, the emerging cyber-physical security threats, and the main goal of maintaining the system's stability and reliability. These challenges pose extreme pressure on finding advanced technologies and sustainable solutions for secure and reliable operations of the power system. The blockchain is one of the recent technologies that have gained lots of attention in different applications including smart grid for its uniqueness and decentralized nature. In the last few years, this technology grew a momentum specifically with the cryptocurrencies' industry such as the Bitcoin and Etherium. The Blockchain's applications in the smart grids could offer many innovative and affordable solutions to some of the challenges that the future and the current smart grids will be facing. This paper reviews different prospects, advantages, approaches, and technical challenges of utilizing the blockchain technology in the smart grid, and presents frameworks for key smart grid blockchain-based applications; more specifically, it is shown that how the blockchain can be used as the smart grid's cyber-physical layer.

Starting from the relationship between urban planning and mobility management, TeMA has gradually expanded the view of the covered topics, always following a rigorous scientific in-depth analysis. This section of the Journal, Review Notes, is the expression of a continuous updating of emerging topics concerning relationships among urban planning, mobility and environment, through a collection of short scientific papers. The Review Notes are made of four parts. Each section examines a specific aspect of the broader information storage within the main interests of TeMA Journal. In particular, the Economy, business and land use section aims at presenting recent advancements on relevant topics that underlie socio-economic relationships between firms and territories. The present note underlines the benefits that entrepreneurship exerts on the city, with a specific focus on sustainability and green entrepreneurs. These ones are individuals who start business ventures without just seeking their profit maximization as a unique goal, but rather contribute to the sustainable development of the communities in which they are embedded. However, in order for them to have positive and long-lasting impacts, they need to cooperate with networks that embed several stakeholders and mainly local governments. TeMA - Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment, Vol 13 No 3 (2020): The city challenges and external agents. Methods, Tools and Best Practices

The paper deals with the role of ICT in innovating government’s and the whole process of “policy production process”. By enhancing the connections between various governmental and social organizations, ICT supported knowledge flow s and the associated Socio Technical System may be a vehicle to support innovation in the public sector. In fact, they would enable governments to better cope with the uncertainties of a complex environment.The MIDA Project carried out in the territory of Asti Province (Piedmont) can be considered as an attempt to engage in building such as a system.The Project uses a crowd sourcing approach and it involves citizens in collecting data concerning broadband coverage, Internet access and usages. From a research standpoint, MIDA represented an opportunity to test the role of Internet as a dynamic collaborative environment where statistically relevant data and interpreted information could be merged.In terms of policy, the project stood as an opportunity for the local government to engage itself in a new policy approach to grasp people’s needs and improve service delivery.The paper deals with the role of ICT in innovating government’s and the whole process of “policy production process”. By enhancing the connections between various governmental and social organizations, ICT supported knowledge flow s and the associated Socio Technical System may be a vehicle to support innovation in the public sector. In fact, they would enable governments to better cope with the uncertainties of a complex environment.The MIDA Project carried out in the territory of Asti Province (Piedmont) can be considered as an attempt to engage in building such as a system.The Project uses a crowd sourcing approach and it involves citizens in collecting data concerning broadband coverage, Internet access and usages. From a research standpoint, MIDA represented an opportunity to test the role of Internet as a dynamic collaborative environment where statistically relevant data and interpreted information could be merged.In terms of policy, the project stood as an opportunity for the local government to engage itself in a new policy approach to grasp people’s needs and improve service delivery. Tema. Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment, Vol 6, N° 3 (2013): Smart Cities: Research, Projects and Good Practices for Infrastructures

Smart grids are an essential element in improving efficiency that is relevant to utilities in all countries - from advanced utilities with robust grids to those whose grids barely keep up with demand. This note provides practical guidance for stakeholders in defining smart-grid goals, identifying priorities, and structuring investment plans. While most of these principles apply to any part of the electricity grid (transmission, distribution, off-grid), the note focuses on the distribution network. Modernizing the grid can help utilities address issues in service delivery such as reducing technical and commercial losses, promoting energy conservation, managing peak demand, improving reliability, integrating high levels of distributed generation (such as mini-grids and power sources with variable output), and accommodating the rising use of electric vehicles. To harness these benefits, it is essential that well-designed plans be developed for the implementation of smart-grid goals and objectives. Smart elements in a grid will differ greatly depending on the state of the power system and the country context. A smart-grid roadmap will therefore vary considerably across countries, but smart technology is essential for successful modernization of any grid.

This round of Eurobarometer surveys diverged from the standard Eurobarometer measures and queried respondents on their opinions regarding radioactive waste, transport services, farm animal welfare, and means of payment. To start the interview, questions were asked regarding knowledge and support of radioactive waste disposal, as well as questions regarding the options of and preferences for nuclear energy. Respondents gave their views on the risks of radioactive waste disposal, the possibility of recycling noncontaminated materials from the nuclear industry, and the political and health-related consequences of handling dangerous waste. Next, questions were asked regarding transport services within the European Union (EU). Respondents gave their views on the rights of passengers, whether they were satisfied with the current transport services in EU countries, and their satisfaction with international travel within the EU. The third portion of the interview collected information on respondents' views on the welfare of farm animals. Questions were asked pertaining to the purchase and consumption of food derived from farm animals, respondents' views on the rights of farm animals, as well as their views and preferences regarding the protection of farm animals. Respondents gave their views on the purchase of eggs, meat, and milk from animal welfare-friendly production systems, their willingness to accept additional price premiums to ensure such production systems are used, and their perception of animal welfare in the EU versus other parts of the world. The last topic of the survey was means of payment. A series of questions addressed financial services in the EU, expectations of financial institutions, preferred payment options, and banking security. Background information includes respondent's age, gender, nationality, origin of birth (personal and parental), marital status, left-to-right political self-placement, occupation, age when they stopped full-time education, household composition, region of residence, and telephone equipment. face-to-face interviewThe codebook and setup files for this collection contain characters with diacritical marks used in many European languages.The categories and scales for P6 (SIZE OF COMMUNITY) and P7 (REGION) may have changed compared to former Eurobarometer up to survey 61.The variable P6UK (SIZE OF LOCALITY UNITED KINGDOM) integrates data for Northern Ireland (codes 1-2) and Great Britain (codes 3-5). The value labels have been corrected by the ZA after consultation with TNS Opinion & Social.Values in the data and setup files may vary from those shown in the questionnaire due to standardization of response categories.The fieldwork dates in the data file for Denmark, Germany, Ireland, and Estonia are not consistent with the fieldwork dates in the Technical Specifications. Citizens of the EU aged 15 and over residing in the 25 EU member countries: Austria, Belgium, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Smallest Geographic Unit: country Datasets: DS1: Eurobarometer 63.2: Radioactive Waste, Transport Services, Farm Animal's Welfare, and Means of Payment, February-March 2005 Please review the "Weighting Information" section of the ICPSR codebook for this Eurobarometer study. Multistage national probability samples.

This paper reports the development and results of a model exploring the resilience of the Dutch electricity transmission infrastructure to extreme weather events. Climate change is anticipated to result in an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events over the coming decades. Situated in a low-lying coastal delta, the Netherlands may be particularly exposed to certain types of extreme weather(-induced) events. The degree to which the country’s electricity network may prove resilient in the face of these future events is an open question. The model focuses on two types of extreme events – floods and heat waves – and assesses two types of adaptation measures – substation flood protections and demand-side management. The model employs a network-based approach in assessing infrastructure resilience – explicitly representing the structure and properties of the Dutch transmission infrastructure – and extends previous work by accounting for key power system characteristics such as capacity constraints and cascading failures. From a practice perspective, the results offer a first indication of the vulnerability of the Dutch electricity transmission infrastructure in the context of climate change. These results suggest that the network displays some vulnerability to both floods and heat waves. Both types of adaptation measures tested are found to enhance resilience, though substation flood protection shows greater benefits. Whilst the model was specifically developed for the study of electricity networks, we anticipate that this method may also be applicable to other types of transport infrastructures. European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research, Vol 16 No 1 (2016)

On a worldwide scale, cities and regions must tackle the challenges set by the radical change in our society and in our economy, aiming to develop effective public policies and boost their managerial, evaluation and planning skills. Anyway, it is essential to put a new idea of city at the centre of the smart strategies in order to bring policies back to their former central position, since technologies alone cannot generate welfare and prosperity. Local leadership, integrated planning and a rich social fabric go hand in hand, the social capital being able to produce an added value for the cities. We are exactly in a new phase of urban growth centred on the economy of services characterized by widespread digital technologies and new innovative organization patterns, which encourage the participation in the civic policy processes through the realization of structures to share information and data so as to define intervention policies. The most recent studies and trials about innovation and competitiveness, such as the examples illustrated in the present work (Amsterdam, Paredes, Aarhus and Gent) show a growing interest in measuring the relationship between innovation and economic growth at various territorial levels, key factors in conceiving inclusive smart strategies, linked to principles of sustainability and territorial cohesion, and building smarter cities. In the light of these remarks, the article is divided into three parts: the first part is focussed on the above-mentioned central issues of the international debate; the second part examines four significant European initiatives; the third part draws preliminary conclusions and directions for further research. Tema. Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment, Vol 6, N° 1 (2013): Smart Cities: Researches, Projects and Good Practices for the City

The transition from fossil fuel-powered to electric mobility is widely discussed as a trajectory towards more efficient, affordable, and sustainable transport infrastructure. Widely ignored in academia, this transition has occurred earlier, faster, and more profoundly in Bangladesh than in Europe or the US but under conditions almost diametrically opposed. Without any national policy to support it, the transition has been driven by the country’s informal economy. However, rather than being framed as a potential technology for “greening” public transport, electric rickshaws are subject to controversies, bans, and exclusion from policies for electric vehicles. This article explores the reasons behind this discrepancy. It unpacks the preconditions, sites, agents, and practices underlying rickshaw electrification in Bangladesh and situates the conflicts surrounding it in a wider institutional context. It shows how in these conflicts, national-level policymakers and business elites mobilize imaginaries of sustainability against electric rickshaws and rely on strategies of “othering” them in (eco-)modernist narratives of social change. Based on the case study, the article points to open questions for the current decolonization agenda in global debates on sustainability transitions and infrastructure. Historical Social Research, 47(4), 139-167