5D: Creating a strategy for smart electrified transportation in Utah

Vehicles drive the national economy, transporting more than 11 billion tons of freight and traveling more than three trillion miles annually. However, transportation is also the single largest contributor to emissions and air pollution. Electrification can support cleaner air and reduce costs, but vehicle costs and infrastructure are significant barriers to widespread adoption.

While electric vehicles (EVs) represent just over 1% of all registered vehicles in Utah today, their annual growth rate now exceeds 50%, and estimates predict more than 500,000 EVs in the state by 2035. The need for fast charging ports in the state is expected to grow from approximately 300 today to more than 2,000 in that same time frame. An even larger challenge is addressing zero-emission solutions for the 1.5 million light trucks and 100,000 heavy trucks in the state. A battery-powered electric semi-truck with a 500-mile range would require batteries that weigh over 20,000 pounds and cost over $150,000.

With this in mind, the ASPIRE Center at USU is developing and deploying advanced technologies to minimize vehicle battery size while maximizing electric utility and charging infrastructure utilization. ASPIRE is a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center headquartered at USU that has received more than $100 million in commitments for research projects and pilot demonstrations. Pilots of technologies from ASPIRE and its partners are being deployed over the next two years in Utah, Indiana, Florida, and Michigan, and have gained national and international attention in public media.

Deployments in Utah include AI-based smart-charge management, in-road dynamic wireless charging for port vehicles, and a one-megawatt wireless power charging system for semi-trucks to be deployed at USU’s Electric Vehicle and Roadway (EVR) research facility and at the Utah Inland Port in Salt Lake City. The system will provide valuable data and experience for further electrification planning development on Utah’s I-15 corridor and other future projects.

ASPIRE has been designated as the lead research institution in Utah for strategic planning around electrified transportation. In this role, ASPIRE will coordinate across state agencies, communities, and industry sectors in developing a unified electrified transportation plan and in pursuing resources and policies to implement the plan. In a related project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, ASPIRE is also developing an urban multi-modal freight corridor electrification plan for Utah together with more than 20 partners, including the state’s leading utility and transit agency, national labs, and key state government agencies.

ASPIRE’s long-term goals are designed to bring society to the tipping point of electrified transportation, where primary barriers are addressed and sufficient momentum and funding are present to carry the transformations forward with continued innovation.