Zero-emission public transit could be a catalyst for decarbonization of the transportation and power sectors

Abstract

Abstract Reaching carbon neutrality will require investment on an unprecedented scale. Here we suggest that there is an underappreciated opportunity to leverage public funds to mobilize private capital in support of these aims. We illustrate the point using examples from public transit. Although the fuelling energy requirements of public fleets represent a small fraction of the eventual total demand across the transportation sector, the predictable and long-term nature of the refuelling profiles can reduce the financing risk. With appropriate coordination across the energy supply chain, near-term investments can be used to support scale-up of wider efforts to decarbonize the transportation sector and electric grid. We present two examples from California—one related to overnight power for battery electric bus charging and the other related to medium-scale supply chains for zero-carbon hydrogen production—to illustrate how this might be achieved.