Breakthroughs in Energy and Transportation

FREMONT, CA: The conventional energy and transportation industries are at risk as the exponential converging technologies gain momentum. Organizations are heading toward clean tech energy sources that will supply 100 percent of the energy requirements.

For instance, solar prices have dropped 250-times during the past 40 years, thereby accounting for a sharp growth in solar panels. The shift toward renewable sources of energy is helping other industries too. Transportation revolution compliments renewable sources and has enormous potential with minimal environmental and economic costs.

Top Transportation Breakthroughs

1. Growth of Autonomous Cars

Alphabet’s Waymo has already covered 10 million miles in the U.S. The continued usage of autonomous vehicles has also enhanced the accuracy and disengagement rate by 321 percent.

2. Autonomous Taxis as a Service

 Against the Waymo’s that required each participant to partake in “early rider program” before trying Waymo One, the Lyft-Waymo partnership allows anyone to experience a self-driving vehicle without a prior NDA.

3. An explosion of Vehicle Formats

Companies are collaborating to design and develop vehicles as per the current requirements. Small electric cars that can accommodate as few as two people will emerge. Larger community vehicles will also appear that will undercut even the cheapest transportation.

4. Drone Delivery for Lightweight Packages

Wing became the first drone delivery company to get approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to provide deliveries in the US.

Top Energy Breakthroughs

1. “1 cent per kWh” Deals for Solar and Wind Signed

Solarpack Corp Technological won a bid in Chile for a 120 MW solar plant and will supply energy at the rate of 2.91 cents per kWh. The deal is expected to drop the energy costs by 25 percent for the Chilean businesses.

2. Solar and Wind to Reach More Than 15 percent of US Electricity

Currently, over eight percent of the energy requirement is met by solar and wind sources. However, with government and organization plans in place, the numbers are expected to surge up to 15 percent within five years.

3. Solar/Wind Batteries to be Cheaper

Northern Indiana utility company NIPSCO is set to move from a 65 percent coal-powered state to a coal-free state by 2028. The company is already investing in wind, solar, and batteries.

4. Electric Vehicles to Dominate the Market

The cost of operating an electric vehicle (EV) is decreasing. The cost of running an EV in the US is around $485, less than half required to maintain a gas-powered vehicle.

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