Sustainable Transport

Greenhouse gas emissions have global consequences which we all must strive to reduce.

The Climate Change Act 2008 sets a clear target: we must cut UK emissions by at least 80% by 2050. Currently, transport accounts for 21% of our total domestic emissions, with road transport being the biggest contributor at about 92%. We have a challenge ahead of us. We understand that transport is essential for our quality of life and economic success. We're determined to balance these two seemingly opposing facts: to ensure people and businesses have more low-carbon options for travel and moving goods.

The possibilities for reducing our emissions are limitless. We can:

Electrify our roads and railways using clean energy.
Design lower-carbon aircraft.
Create radically new information and traffic management systems.

These advances will also help us reduce our reliance on oil and our import needs. We’re tackling these key challenges head-on, linking our work to the UK Industrial Strategy's Grand Challenges. We aim to maximize the advantages of the global shift to clean growth and become a world leader in shaping the future of mobility. We are here to make a difference.

Aims

Our researchers are taking a whole-system approach to transport, looking at the drivers of change, from new technologies and shifting mobility needs to economic pressures, environmental priorities, and social concerns around sustainability.

We also examine the role, acceptance, and impact of policies and regulations, which are critical to achieving meaningful emissions reductions.

By addressing short, medium, and long-term challenges in an integrated way, our work considers the entire supply system, the development of future charging infrastructure, and the evolution of vehicle technologies.

Research

Our EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Net Zero Aviation is a community of passionate, committed people who work hard to make a difference. We are problem-solvers and advocates for those who need it most, determined in our pursuit of progress.

The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Net Zero Aviation

Funding: £7.93M

We are training the innovators and researchers who will find the novel, disruptive solutions to decarbonize aviation and deliver the UK's Jet Zero and ATI's Destination Zero strategies. In partnership with industry, we will establish the UK as an international hub for technology, innovation, and education in net zero aviation, attracting foreign and domestic investment and strengthening the position of existing UK companies. Our Centre for Doctoral Training will fund up to 64 PhD students working across all areas related to decarbonizing aviation. We are working with Cranfield University, Strathclyde University, and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS), alongside a wide range of industry partners, to train future innovators in this field.

UKRI-NSF Global Center for Clean Energy and Equitable Transportation Solutions (CLEETS)

Funding: £10M

Bringing together leading experts in atmospheric science, energy, data science, and transportation, we are promoting interdisciplinary research and accelerating the adoption of use-inspired clean road transportation pathways by collaborating with the government, the private sector, industry, and stakeholders Leading Transport Energy Infrastructure Thrust.

National Edge AI Hub for Real Data: Edge Intelligence for Cyber-Disturbances and Data Quality

Funding: £10M EPSRC

We provide solutions and support for edge AI, fostering engagement, education, collaboration, and innovation across industries. From spreading awareness to nurturing talent and facilitating seamless integration, we empower our stakeholders to harness the full potential of edge AI.

Contributors of Edge AI: Smart Transport Theme - Edge AI can support smart transport by enabling autonomous vehicles to process sensor data, such as lidar, radar, and camera feeds, in real-time directly on board the vehicle. This allows for faster decision-making and response times, which are crucial for safe navigation in dynamic environments.

Member of Advisory Board and Director of EDI.

UK-Australia Centre in a Secure Internet of Energy: Supporting Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure at the "Edge" of the Grid

Funding: £1.5M EPSRC

This project combines workstreams on attack modelling, data synthesis, and attack generation and validation using testbeds across the UK and Australia. We are developing a simulator to support "what-if" investigations into cyber resilience for EVs.

Decarbonizing Transport Through Electrification

Funding: £1M EPSRC

Our Decarbonising Transport through Electrification (DTE) Network+ is a multidisciplinary project addressing the challenges of implementing an electrified, cost-effective, and holistically operating transport sector for the UK. The DTE Network+ brings together industry, academia, and the public sector to identify the challenges limiting the current implementation of an electrified, integrated transport system across the automotive, aerospace, and rail sectors. Our network develops and sustains an interdisciplinary team to solve these challenges, leveraging external funding from both public and private sectors. We are an inclusive network with a focus on EDI and mechanisms to support colleagues, such as early career researchers.

We focus our research expertise on addressing the challenges of interactions between energy networks, future electric vehicle charging infrastructure (including roadside wireless charging & the shift to autonomous vehicles), electric & hybrid aircraft, and the electrification of the rail network. We address low-carbon transport modes (road, rail, and airborne) alongside associated electricity infrastructures to support existing and future mobility needs, treating these as an integrated system embedded within the electricity energy vector.

Projects

We are delivering a range of research projects focused on low-carbon transport and energy systems. These initiatives explore practical solutions in aviation, electrification, edge AI, and infrastructure resilience, working in partnership with academia, industry and the public sector.

EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Net Zero Aviation (£7.93M)

We’re shaping the future of flight. Through the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Net Zero Aviation, we’re working with industry to train researchers who will lead the charge in decarbonising aviation. Together, we’re delivering the UK’s Jet Zero and ATI’s Destination Zero strategies — and establishing the UK as a global hub for clean aviation innovation.

UKRI-NSF Global Center for Clean Energy and Equitable Transportation Solutions (CLEETS) (£10M)

We’re connecting experts in energy, transport, data and climate to create cleaner, fairer road transport systems. CLEETS is a space for collaboration — where government, industry and communities come together to turn research into action.

National Edge AI Hub for Real Data: Edge Intelligence for Cyber-Disturbances and Data Quality (£10M EPSRC)

We’re helping industries unlock the full potential of edge AI. Our hub supports education, collaboration and innovation — making it easier to integrate edge AI into real-world systems. From awareness to implementation, we’re here to empower.

Contributors of Edge AI: Smart Transport Theme

Edge AI enables autonomous vehicles to process sensor data — like lidar, radar and camera feeds — in real time. This means faster decisions, safer navigation, and smarter mobility. We’re proud to support this transformation.

UK-Australia Centre in a Secure Internet of Energy: Supporting Electric Vehicle Infrastructure at the "Edge" of the Grid (£1.5M EPSRC)

We’re working across continents to protect electric vehicle infrastructure. This project explores cyber resilience through attack modelling, data synthesis and simulation — helping us build systems that are secure, reliable and ready for the future.

Decarbonising Transport Through Electrification (£1M EPSRC)

We’re bringing together academia, industry and the public sector to tackle the challenges of electrified transport. From roadside wireless charging to hybrid aircraft and rail electrification, we’re building a low-carbon, integrated system that meets future mobility needs. Our network is inclusive, collaborative and committed to supporting early career researchers and advancing equity, diversity and inclusion.

Teaching and training

Sustainable Transport Master's Taught Module

We deliver a module introducing transport as a major source of emissions in the UK and globally, and we explore ways to decarbonize it through the introduction of zero-emission technology options and the deployment of supporting infrastructure. Our module develops an understanding of how transport decarbonization is linked with energy, air pollution, and climate change. In addition to these core concepts, we are covering different modes of transport (road, rail, aerospace, and maritime) in an individual and whole system approach, low-carbon transport solutions, cleaner fuels, e-mobility and low-carbon vehicles, charging infrastructure, electric vehicles as energy assets (for customers and the grid), mobility as a service, and other innovations that are important to achieving a sustainable transport moving towards a zero-carbon future.

Automotive Design

This module is aligned with the aims of the Formula Student Competition, an international motorsport competition specifically for undergraduate engineering students. Our students experience a real-world, authentic engineering design task in a collaborative environment that combines practical knowledge with the development of softer skills such as project management and teamwork. Each year, our students design, build, test, and race a new car which must be developed within a strict budget and meet the design specifications set by the Institute of Mechanical Engineering for the competition. This module operates around Cardiff Racing, a team of volunteers who help build and race the car. We are proud that 2025 will see the last combustion car from Cardiff ahead of the transition to electric next year.

Industry Projects

We are working in collaboration with partners to generate project opportunities for our undergraduate and master's students. These have included working with GCRE, British Antarctic Survey, BMT (a maritime-orientated high-end design house and technical consulting firm) the logistics provider DSV, Port of Milford Haven, and National Grid Electricity Transmission.

Visiting Students

We have hosted visits and internship placements from the University of Illinois Chicago, University of Bremen, UNICAMP Brazil, Politecnico di Bari, Italy, and Ondokuz Mayıs University, Turkey.

Student-led Conferences

We secured £20,000 of Welsh Government sponsorship for our Early Career Researchers, PhD students, and academic staff to participate by organizing a student workshop in the Inspiration gallery entitled: "Electrified Transport, how and where we will travel in the future". We also organized a conference in October 2019 in Cardiff to promote the work of our researchers across a range of transport themes.

Continuing Professional Development

We are able to deliver bespoke courses for industry partners on a wide range of topics related to Sustainable Transport. For example, we recently delivered a suite of training videos on the topic 'e-mobility and e-vehicles' alongside our colleagues from computer science, geography and planning, and the business school for a customer migrating their fleet to electric vehicles.

Facilities

High Voltage Laboratory including Battery Testing

Our High Voltage Laboratory, which includes a Battery Testing facility, has expertise in high voltage insulation systems, protection against overvoltage, earthing systems, and the safety of electrical systems.

Cardiff University Structural Performance Laboratory incorporating the Tribology Laboratory

This cutting-edge facility provides manufacturing and structural analysis capabilities to conduct in-depth testing and diagnostics across all fields of engineering. Our extensive range of equipment allows for research ranging from the acoustic emission testing of aircraft structures and the testing and diagnostics of bridges, to work in biomedical engineering on soft tissue mechanics.

Lightning Laboratory

The Morgan-Botti Lightning Laboratory (MBLL) provides a research and test capability for understanding and enhancing the science of lightning protection. It is Europe's only university-based lightning direct-effects laboratory and one of only a handful worldwide. Our £2.4m facility can generate controlled lightning with currents up to 200,000 amps, more than five times that of the average lightning strike.

Gas Turbine Research Centre

We have an extensive suite of bespoke test rigs, laser-based optical diagnostics, and instrumentation available for the characterization of combustion phenomena, fuel sprays, and combustion emissions. We use both traditional fuels as well as alternative and renewable fuels like Hydrogen and ammonia.

Hydrogen Electric Propulsion Research Centre

The main aim of our centre is to develop a scalable technology demonstrator to prove the concept of a hydrogen electric hybrid propulsion system. The project integrates two novel, advanced battery and hydrogen fuel cell systems on a single platform to overcome the main barriers faced by the industry and test its performance capabilities on a regional-scale flying testbed. The project is partially funded by eight industrial partners, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and Welsh Government.

Advisory roles

Our Sustainable Transport cross-cutting theme is making a significant policy impact. We are providing evidence and making recommendations to policymakers at the local, national, and international levels.

Our work has included:

Advising policymakers at an international level through a report on electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in the UK, which was funded by the Climate Diplomacy Fund and commissioned by the British Embassy in Beijing.
Giving oral evidence to the Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee and the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee of the Welsh Parliament on electric vehicle (EV) charging strategies and decarbonisation of transport.
Submitting written evidence for Welsh Government consultations and documents on electric vehicle charging strategy and the decarbonisation of transport.
Serving as a member of the Zemo Welsh Stakeholder Working Group to provide recommendations for the Welsh Government's strategy on decarbonizing the commercial fleet in Wales.
Arranging for one of our PhD students to have a secondment at the Welsh Government, where they worked with the Air Quality Policy Branch and the Transport Decarbonisation Programme Board. This student helped develop schemes like Road User Charging (RUC), Low Emission Zones (LEZ), and Clean Air Zones (CAZ), and also contributed to the White Paper on a Clean Air Bill for Wales.