Decarbonizing transportation
Our efforts in clean transportation date back to 1989, with the Center’s early focus on hydrogen technologies. Today, our work includes (i) zero-emission public transit planning, (ii) vehicle-to-grid (V2G) integration, and (iii) policy studies related to the fuels transition.
Public transit: We are currently working with the Humboldt Transit Authority to support their transition to a zero-emission fleet – including the design and construction of a hydrogen fueling station – and working with industry partners to advance the development of fuel cell electric buses that are appropriate for remote and mountainous terrain.
V2G: By utilizing responsive charging programs, large scale electric vehicle fleets could reduce grid stress and minimize daytime solar curtailment. A recent project at the Redwood Coast Airport Microgrid demonstrated the use of frequency shift to send commands to participating EVs (when connected to a paired charger). The EVs were directed to either inject power into the microgrid or absorb excess solar energy, depending on the state of the microgrid battery.
Policy: Research from our team has sought to improve the environmental and social performance of the transportation fuel transition. One study shed light on the inequitable distribution of access to EV chargers across racial and socioeconomic categories in California. In another research effort, we advised the Biden administration on a structure leveraging waste streams to promote vehicle electrification under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard. Related work on waste-to-energy pathways sought to highlight and address the subsidies for industrial-scale animal agriculture that have emerged from California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
Recent projects and reports
- Zero-emission transit design for the Humboldt Transit Authority (in progress; project completion scheduled for December 2026)
- Vehicle-to-grid capacity demonstration at the Redwood Coast Airport Microgrid (V2G project completed November 2025)
- Risks of crediting carbon offsets in low carbon fuel standards: lessons learned from dairy biomethane (research published in Energy Policy, November 2025)
- Potential for the Renewable Portfolio Standard to accelerate adoption of electric vehicles (research published in Energy Policy, July 2022)
- Public electric vehicle charger access disparities across race and income in California (research published in Transport Policy, January 2021)
