On the way to the electric transition of road and air transport

Abstract

Global warming due to human activity is starting to cause concern. A multitude of endeavours are being actively pursued to mitigate the release of greenhouse gases, with the overarching objective of attaining carbon neutrality by 2050, in alignment with the European Commission’s Green Deal initiative. These endeavours predominantly target sectors that make substantial contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, among them is the transport sector. In response, a range of technological solutions are viable. Among these, a particularly promising avenue is the shift from conventional heat engines to electric motors. The field being vast, only road and air transport is studied in the frame of express deliveries. However, for this initiative to attract investors and develop faster, this transition to electric technologies must have a financial advantage compared to the current situation. This leads to the first research question of this thesis: Does transitioning to electric technology in the domain of express delivery, both for air and road transport, yield significant financial benefits? In parallel, as the reliability of autopilot systems continues to improve and ensure robust flight safety, airlines are becoming increasingly inclined to explore opportunities for reducing or even eliminating onboard pilots as a cost-saving measure. Hence, the second research question explored in this thesis aims to quantify the potential advantages that could arise from such crew reduction strategies. This inquiry encompasses scenarios ranging from transitioning from two pilots to one, and in the extreme case, the full implementation of autonomous flight. In the same idea, the feasibility of eliminating drivers in the context of road transport is also being investigated.