partnerships for sustainable mobility€¦ · solutions based on renewable meth-ane (“biogas”)...

© F

RIE

DR

ICH

STA

RK

—P

ETE

R A

RN

OLD

, IN

C.

PARTNERSHIPS FOR SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY

This article was published in the April 2005 issue of Environment.Volume 47, number 3, pages 22–35. Posted with permission.© Heldref publications, 2005. http://www.heldref.org/env.php

By Stephan F. Lienin, Bernd Kasemir, Roland Stulz, and Alexander Wokaun

The Pilot Region of Basel

THE RISING use of motor vehicles is provid-

ing increasing parts of the global population

with convenient and comfortable mobility

options for trips related to commuting, shop-

ping, leisure activities, and other pursuits.

However, the world’s vehicle fleet poses

major challenges for local air quality in urban

areas as well as for global climate protection:

Motor vehicles contribute up to an estimated

64 percent of sulfur dioxides, 69 percent of

suspended particles, 97 percent of carbon

monoxide, 95 percent of hydrocarbons, and

92 percent of nitrous oxides found in some

urban areas—mainly in developing coun-

tries. At the same time, motor vehicles are

responsible for roughly 20 percent of car-

bon dioxide (CO2) emissions in developed

countries such as the United States.1 This© F

RIE

DR

ICH

STA

RK

—P

ETE

R A

RN

OLD

, IN

C.

CO

UR

TESY

OF

BA

SE

L TO

UR

ISM

US

PARTNERSHIPS FOR SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY

situation has caused many to sound the alarm and advocate actions that mitigate the environmental impacts of mobility without decreasing its affordability and comfort. Such actions come in different forms, even for cases that are based on the same technological innovations. For example, a recent article in Envi-ronment reported on a drastic policy measure targeted at more sustainable mobility in Delhi.2 To reduce the high pollution loads in Delhi’s metropolitan area, the Indian Supreme Court ordered the conversion of all buses and most taxis in the city to natural gas fuel. That decision was the outcome of a prolonged struggle to implement India’s 1981 clean air legislation in Delhi. Prompted by an active local nongovern-mental organization’s (NGO) “public interest lawsuit,” the issue was finally resolved in 1998 by India’s Supreme Court, which took the unusual step of prescribing a specific technical solu-tion, compressed natural gas (CNG) as a fuel for commercial vehicles.

Against a rather different backdrop, a strong focus on natural gas as a fuel is shared by a public-private partnership that tests and demonstrates options for more sustainable mobility in the Swiss industrial region of Basel. In addition to taxis and buses, passenger cars are a key component of this program. The program has a two-pronged approach: First, the project aims to demonstrate the latest prototype developments and highlight the role of natural gas as a bridge toward future transportation solutions based on renewable meth-ane (“biogas”) and, later, on renewably produced hydrogen. Second, it aims to provide incentives to private and public users interested in buying natural gas vehicles currently on the market. The technology development component of the program is carried out in partner-ships between the Swiss Federal Insti-tutes of Technology (the ETH domain) and the car and car-supply industry. The program incentives, including support for building natural gas fueling stations, are funded by the regional and local gas industry. The overall program that

coordinates these activities and facili-tates between the different stakeholders is anchored in an alliance between the ETH domain and the local governments of two Swiss states (cantons): Basel-Stadt, mainly consisting of the city of Basel itself, and Basel-Landschaft, con-sisting of the surrounding metropoli-tan area with a number of smaller cit-ies. This alliance—the novatlantis pilot region of Basel—strives to translate technology research relevant for sustain-ability into practical applications and to demonstrate them in the Basel region (comprising the two Swiss cantons) as an example of a metropolitan region with a high standard of living.3

Mobility and Lifestyles in the Pilot Region of Basel

The Basel region is a metropolitan area at the intersection of Switzerland, France, and Germany. The Swiss part of the region, which includes the two Swiss cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft, is particularly strong in transportation services, banking, and high-tech industries like pharmaceuti-cals. Switzerland in general offers its residents a high economic standard of living without putting out-of-scale pres-sure on the environment. Within the Organisation for Economic Co-opera-tion and Development (OECD) coun-tries, Switzerland has for a long time taken one of the leading positions con-cerning average income of its inhabit-ants, who enjoy economic standards of living that are very similar to those in the United States.4 At the same time, the environmental performance of Switzer-land has received top ratings in interna-tional rankings, and per-capita energy use is only about half of that of the United States.5 Thus, Switzerland may exemplify one direction that economic development can take—namely, high incomes and moderate environmental stress. This contrasts considerably with countries such as the United States, where high incomes are—at least for the moment—coupled with high stress

on the environment, including green-house gas emissions endangering the global climate system. (See the box on page 25).

Within Switzerland, the residents of Basel region show a particularly high environmental awareness. For example, in the city of Basel, car ownership is very low, due to the fact that many citizens use the dense public transport system and car-sharing services: 44 percent of households do not own a car, compared with the Swiss average of roughly 20 percent. Intense public debates and, subsequently, awareness of environmental issues in the whole region of Basel have been triggered by a major chemical accident that polluted the river Rhine all the way up to the North Sea and was followed by a highly successful cleanup operation (see the box on page 26).

This environmentally conscious cul-ture has motivated the two cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft to team up with the ETH domain and with industry partners for sustainability projects in the novatlantis pilot region of Basel, which can be considered a large-scale and long-term field test of the impact of technology on sus-tainable development in a developed economy like Switzerland. The ETH domain6 has much to offer in terms of technical knowledge with poten-tial benefits for a region like Basel. The ETH domain’s strong portfolio of research and development projects includes innovations in vehicle design, energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, building technology, and water management. Likewise, the collabora-tion with regional governmental agen-cies, regional research centers—such as the University of Applied Sciences (FHbB) or the University of Basel—and partners from industry allows the ETH domain to improve its knowledge on the practical applicability of its technology development.

In the pilot region of Basel, addressing sustainability issues is less a matter of alleviating immediately pressing prob-lems than of investing in a portfolio of

24 ENVIRONMENT APRIL 2005

options for protecting the high regional quality of life in the long term. As car traffic is responsible for roughly 20 percent of energy consumption in Swit-zerland and contributes significantly not only to CO2 emissions but also to local

air pollution, finding more sustainable transportation solutions is a key issue for the pilot region.7 It has been argued that reducing the environmental impacts of motor vehicles requires some com-bination of reduced vehicle travel, bet-

ter fuel economy, and alternative fuels that are CO2-neutral.8 In addition, the novatlantis team differentiates between avoiding trips and shifting them from private cars to public transport as two different options for reducing vehicle

SOURCE: Data compiled from The World Bank, 2004 World Development Indicators (Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2004).

UNITED STATES SWITZERLAND

40,000

30,000

20,000

10,000

Gross nat ional income (GNI ) in the Uni ted States

and Switzer land, 2002

U.S

. dol

lars

GN Iin U.S. dollars (Atlas)

GNIin purchasing-power parity

12,000

10,000

8,000

4,000

2,000

6,000

Energy use in the Uni ted States

and Switzer land, 2001

Wat

ts p

er c

apita

Energy use

SWITZERLAND: AN EXAMPLE OF ENVIRONMENTALLY COMPATIBLE DEVELOPMENT?

VOLUME 47 NUMBER 3 ENVIRONMENT 25

Average household income is roughly similar in Switzerland and the United States. But energy use per capita is very dif-ferent: Switzerland’s average per-capita energy use is just half that of the United States. However, even in Switzerland, energy use is much higher than in less developed countries. To show that a universally equal development opportunity is feasible without putting unsustainable pressure on the global commons, the Swiss sustainability program “novatlantis—sustainability at the ETH domain” promotes the vision of a “2000 Watt per capita society by the middle of the 21st century.”1 A 2,000 Watt per-capita energy demand, which is the current global average, corresponds to 65 gigajoules per capita per year

and would represent only 40 percent of Switzerland’s cur-rent per-capita primary energy use. A first step toward this challenging long-term vision is the demonstration of future technologies that sustain the country’s high economic stan-dards without exceeding global average per-capita values of energy use and CO2 emissions. (For more information, see http://www.novatlantis.ch.)

1. For the priorities set in this strategy, see E. Jochem et al., Steps Towards a 2000 Watt–Society: Developing a White Paper on Research & Development of Energy-Efficient Technologies, Pre-study, Final Report (CEPE Zürich, LENI EPF Lausanne, D-CHEM ETH Zürich, D-MAVT ETH Zürich, PSI Vil-ligen, EMPA Dübendorf, 2003).


travel. Thus, novatlantis supports a “four-S” strategy for reducing energy use and emissions of car traffic: saving, shifting, smoothing, and substituting. Here “saving” means avoiding car traf-fic by (often long-term focused) urban planning, regulations, and taxes; “shift-ing” refers to replacing car traffic by the use of public transport; and “smoothing” means reducing energy use and emis-sions related to the remaining car traffic by more efficient car technology. A fur-ther element in this strategy is substitut-ing fossil fuels with renewable fuels. Switzerland is further ahead with saving and shifting than many other developed countries, especially countries like the United States, where commuting dis-tances are larger and public transport is less developed. However, smoothing and substituting fossil fuels with renew-able fuels remain largely unsolved prob-lems in Switzerland, in particular due to the dominant use of cars in leisure traffic. For this reason, while all “four-S” elements are included in novatlantis projects, the focus is on less polluting vehicles that, in the long term, can be run on renewable fuels.9

Public-Private Partnership for Sustainable Mobility

In the novatlantis pilot region of Basel, a public-private partnership among public policy, research institu-tions, and industry is working to test and demonstrate the potential of natural gas, biogas, and (in the long term) hydrogen as fuels to contribute to a more sus-tainable mobility. How does this focus relate to other options for a path toward more sustainable mobility? Why has it been chosen for the mobility projects of novatlantis? How are corresponding transportation innovations demonstrated in the pilot region of Basel?

Interactive Project Development for Sustainable Mobility

In general, several options exist to reduce car emissions. In addition to

light-weight construction, innovative drive train technology is the key ele-ment, ranging from optimized combus-tion engines and combustion-electric hybrids to—in the long term—fuel cell systems.10 Different fuels—including gasoline, diesel, methane, or hydro-gen—can supply these propulsion sys-tems. Such fuels can be produced from fossil or renewable primary energy sources. Figure 1 on page 27 illustrates the different possible pathways from primary energy via secondary energy to vehicle propulsion.

Researchers and car companies gener-ally agree that in the long term, hydro-gen use in fuel cell cars is the future for the transportation sector because it eliminates local pollution, contributes to energy savings, and, in the long run,

drastically reduces CO2 emissions (if the hydrogen is produced using renewable sources such as solar energy, hydropow-er, or biomass). There is less agreement about when hydrogen cars will reach mass transportation markets, however,11 and no general agreement on which intermediate steps will lead to hydrogen- based mobility from the now current petroleum-based system.

Improved fuel-efficiency of con-ventional gasoline-based combustion engines is increasingly offset by larger and heavier cars, especially sport util-ity vehicles (SUVs). Alternatives going further include combustion-electric hybrids, mainly propagated in the Unit-ed States and Japan (but still showing higher prices and limited supply), and improved diesel engines, pushed by car

A CHEMICAL ACCIDENT CONTRIBUTES TO HIGH ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS

In 1986, all of continental Europe was alarmed by the “Schweizerhalle accident” in the region of Basel. A fire in a chemical warehouse of what was then the Sandoz Corporation sent large amounts of toxic chemicals via the fire’s extinguishing water into the Rhine river. All downstream extrac-tion of drinking water—from the accident site to the North Sea—had to be temporarily shut down, and the toxins killed aquatic life within several hun-dred kilometers. This was the start of a very extensive, ultimately successful cleanup operation of the Rhine. In the region of Basel, this accident, togeth-er with the successful management of its consequences, has led to intense public debates and increased awareness concerning environmental issues.1

1. For a description of the Schweizerhalle accident, see G. Marlair, M. Simonson, and R. G. Gann, “Environmental Concerns of Fires: Facts, Figures, Questions and New Challenges for the Future,” in Interflam 2004, International Interflam Conference, 10th Proceedings. Volume 1. July 5–7, 2004 (London: Interscience Communications Ltd., 2004), 325–37. Concerning the impact of the Schweizerhalle accident on public attitudes in Switzerland toward environmental pollution and health, see S. Kahlmaier, N. Künzli, and C. Braun-Fahrländer, “The First Years of Implementation of the Swiss National Environment and Health Action Plan (NEHAP): Lessons for Environmental Health Promotion,” Soz.-Präventivemed (Social and Preventive Medicine) 47 (2002), 1–13.

© W

WW

.BA

SE

L.C

H

The river Rhine, shown here in Basel, is clean enough to swim in again.

companies in Europe because of their better fuel-efficiency (but still showing higher local emissions than gasoline cars). Another option is methane from natural gas or biomass used in combus-tion engines specifically optimized for that purpose.

Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel well suited for internal combustion and provides clear advantages for local air quality as well as global climate pro-tection. From the viewpoint of environ-mental performance, natural gas shows a less pronounced trade-off of goals between CO2 emissions and pollutants than gasoline and diesel technologies do. Compared to a similar gasoline-powered vehicle, natural gas vehicles (NGVs) have the potential to reduce

emissions of nitrous oxides by 60–90 percent and hydrocarbons (excluding methane) and compounds contributing to local ozone formation by 50–90 per-cent. Furthermore, switching fuels from gasoline to less carbon-rich natural gas already results in a CO2 reduction of about 25 percent at the same efficiency levels, and efficiency optimization can lead to further gains. While similar CO2 emission and pollutant levels are achiev-able with gasoline and diesel vehicles, they often lead to higher costs for those types of engines.

Natural gas as a fuel was seen as one promising option to pursue in the mobility work of the novatlantis pilot region of Basel. One reason is that the pathway leading from natural gas (con-

sisting mainly of methane) to optimized combustion engine propulsion is at an interesting intermediate stage between current petroleum-based combustion propulsion and the hydrogen-based fuel cell vehicle of the future. In addition, the considerable growth rate of NGV use in the countries directly neighbor-ing Switzerland—Italy, Germany, and France—created a favorable context, especially in the multinational region around Basel. But importantly, another major reason for focusing on natural gas vehicle propulsion in the pilot region of Basel was that it proved a highly suitable technology for social learning between different stakeholders relevant for a public-private partnership on sus-tainable mobility in that region.12


Figure 1. Different technology pathways from primary energy to car propulsion

SOURCE: S. F. Lienin, B. Kasemir, R. Stulz, and A. Wokaun.

Primary energy Secondary energy Propulsion

Oil

CoalNatural gas

Biomass

Solar thermal

NuclearHydropower

WindPhotovoltaic

Gasoline/diesel/

synfuels

Methane

Hydrogen

Electricity

Combustion engine/hybrid

Fuel cell + electric motor

Battery + electric motor


While also carrying out major projects on diesel technology and combustion-electric hybrids, technology developers from the ETH domain had worked with industry partners on optimized NGV technology for some time prior to imple-menting the novatlantis project. And the regional gas industry had already started subsidizing natural gas fuel station con-struction and providing incentives to consumers who purchased NGVs. This common interest in CNG propulsion was a key element for allowing the novatlantis mobility projects to become a platform for social learning, not only by increasing communication and col-laboration between these two groups but also with other stakeholders. For example, although the local and global environmental benefits that natural gas cars provide fit well in principle with the preferences of the environmental authorities of both cantons of Basel, NGVs had not been a high priority for them before the novatlantis program facilitated increased communication on this issue between all relevant stake-holders. Furthermore, because new tech-nologies that require behavioral changes from consumers can only succeed if the preferences of these consumers are taken into account in product develop-ment and marketing, novatlantis put a major effort into including the views of citizens into the mutual learning pro-cesses.13 To accomplish this, novatlan-tis first implemented a scoping project using in-depth focus group procedures with a small number of residents from the two cantons of Basel-Landschaft and Basel-Stadt. The scoping project was followed by a survey of 1,000 Swiss residents (with a focus on participants from the Basel region). The results con-firmed that natural gas vehicles are of interest to many residents in the region. They also showed that raising awareness for NGVs as a bridge toward biomass-based methane fuels in the medium term, and hydrogen-driven fuel cell cars in the long term, makes natural gas more interesting to many consumers (see the box on this page). Thus, to ensure that the program spoke to the public’s views

and interests, a consensus was reached among the project partners to include a strong biogas component in the project, as well as a vision on hydrogen as fuel for a long-term future.

The interactive nature of project development in this case illustrates the need for organizations like novatlan-tis, which form a bridge between sci-ence and practical applications for sus-tainability, to keep a balance between credibility, legitimacy, and saliency (or relevance) from the points of view of different stakeholders.14 While ETH domain institutes have high scientif-ic credibility, the translation of their research results into practical appli-cations needs anchoring in regional public-private partnerships. Such partnerships have to be legitimate by involving all major stakeholder groups concerned, in this case not only the public sector (the two cantons of Basel) and industry (the regional and local

gas industry as well as car companies and automotive suppliers—see below) but also the region’s citizens. Such a multistakeholder process then has to be focused on goals that are at the inter-section of the interests of the groups involved and thus are seen as relevant by all participants.

For the reasons described above, the technology portfolio considered by the program was developed with a focus on the following pathways: natural gas (methane) to combustion engines in the short term, biomass via biogas (meth-ane) to combustion engines in the medi-um term, and natural gas or renewables via hydrogen to fuel cell propulsion in the long term (see Figure 2 on page 29). The decision to develop the portfolio in such a way was also influenced by the facts that the ETH domain is very active in technology development to convert wood to biogas and that natural gas and biogas vehicles can help consumers and

LISTENING TO CITIZENS’ VIEWS IN THE PILOT REGION OF BASEL

Citizen participation in the novatlantis pilot project was based on meth-ods of integrated-assessment focus groups, backed by a public-opinion poll with 1,000 respondents.1 Researchers found that citizens’ points of view on sustainable mobility could roughly be grouped along the lines of four “motivation types”: “hedonists,” who enjoy and expect quality and convenience; “technologists,” who are excited about technological innovations; “poets,” who have strongly metaphorical associations and value social justice; and “spartans,” whose individual wishes are modest and who value environmental protection. From the discussions, it became clear that given the low density of natural gas fueling stations in Switzerland for the near future, poets and spartans are currently most likely to show interest in using natural gas vehicles. It also became clear that for these two motivation types, natural gas alone as a fuel that shows clear environmental benefits but still derives from fossil sources is less convincing than natural gas in combination with biogas, which is CO2-neutral. Biogas is perceived as a step toward a renewable fuel system, such as that foreseen in a hydrogen economy, in the long run. In addition, the survey also showed that among different fuel options for buses, biogas ranked at the top, followed by natural gas. And hydrogen buses were still clearly more accepted than diesel buses, which are currently the most widespread bus technology in the region.

1. The method of integrated assessment focus group research has been described in B. Kasemir, J. Jäger, C. C. Jaeger, and M. T. Gardner, eds., Public Participation in Sustain-ability Science. A Handbook (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003); and B. Kasemir et al., “Citizens’ Perspectives on Climate Change and Energy Use,” Global Environmental Change 10 no. 3 (2000), 169–84.


fuel station operators get used to gas-eous fuels, preparing these groups for the use of hydrogen fuel.

Technology Development and Pilot and Demonstration Projects

This three-element strategy could build on strong technology development proj-ects designed in coordination and imple-mented in collaborations between the ETH domain and industry. Within the even larger portfolio of the ETH domain on fuel and vehicle innovations (including leading projects on clean diesel engines and energy-saving hybrid propulsion), major projects with direct relevance are the clean engine vehicle (CEV) project on

improved NGV technology; the Ecogas project that includes the development of technology for high-temperature conver-sion of wood to methane fuel; and the HY.POWER project for a fuel cell car supported by supercaps, short-term stor-age devices for comparatively large quan-tities of electrical energy that recuperate energy otherwise lost in braking.

The goal of the CEV project—a col-laboration of the Swiss Federal Labora-tories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA), ETH Zurich, Volkswagen, and the German automotive supply company Bosch—was the optimized conversion of a gasoline internal combustion engine to CNG operation. The project achieved CO2 reductions of 30 percent compared

with a gasoline vehicle with similar per-formance and very low local emissions, fulfilling the European Union’s currently introduced Euro-4 emission limits as well as the strict Californian SULEV (“Super Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles”) standards. The project entailed modify-ing the engine and the preexisting model-based engine control system, introduc-ing an enhanced catalytic converter, and downsizing and turbo-charging the engine. As required by the initiators of the project, all components were com-monly available on the market, so that the result is suitable for integration into series production.15

The Ecogas approach seeks to dem-onstrate how Switzerland could signifi-

Figure 2. Pathways prioritized in the pilot region of Basel

SOURCE: S. F. Lienin, B. Kasemir, R. Stulz, and A. Wokaun.

Primary Energy Secondary Energy Propulsion

Oil

CoalNatural gas

Biomass

Solar thermal

NuclearHydropower

WindPhotovoltaic

Gasoline/diesel/

synfuels

Methane

Hydrogen

Electricity

Combustion engine/hybrid

Fuel cell + electric motor

Battery + electric motor

cantly reduce its consumption of fossil energy by using biomass via gasifica-tion, producing electric power and bio-mass-based methane. Methane is also the main component of natural gas for which Switzerland already has a good distribution network. It makes sense, therefore, to encourage the produc-tion of methane from existing biomass sources such as wood—currently under- used in Switzerland—and thus develop methane as a secondary energy source to be used in cleaner car propulsion, for example. Technologies developed within Ecogas by the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) enable the production of synthetic natural gas by catalytic conversion of biomass to methane with an efficiency rate in excess of 50 per-cent. This research and development program partners up with industry and

includes the planned construction of the world’s first two-megawatt pilot plant for high-temperature conversion of wood to methane.16

A major contribution to the further development of hydrogen-supplied fuel cell cars was achieved within the project HY.POWER, which demonstrated an innovative fuel cell car prototype. This project was conducted in collaboration between PSI and ETH Zurich on the public research side, and Volkswagen and FEV Engine Technology, Inc., on the industry side. One of the distinguish-ing features of the project was the use of supercaps. The result was an energy-saving hydrogen-based fuel cell car, robust enough for real-world driving conditions that, upon its unveiling, it successfully crossed a Swiss alpine pass in winter.17

These technology development proj-ects, conducted by the ETH domain in coordination and collaboration with industry, are linked to specific stake-holders and the general public in pilot and demonstration (P&D) activities in the novatlantis project “experience space mobility,” which is centered on the pilot region of Basel. With this platform, novatlantis is able to address aspects of all stages of the production-consumption system for more sustain-able fuel and vehicle innovations, from biomass availability assessments, via fuel production and vehicle prototype developments, to public demonstrations and acceptance studies (see the box on this page).

This strategy of sustainable mobil-ity work in the pilot region of Basel can be seen as an extension of strate-

The novatlantis group studies and demonstrates the whole “value chain” of sustainable mobility, from resources to fuel production to cars, and, finally, to end-users. The lat-ter step is achieved by pilot and demonstration projects in the pilot region of Basel. This approach, addressing the production of more sustainable fuels and vehicles as well as their use by con-sumers, is in line with the recent attention that integrated studies of production-consumption systems have received

by the international sustainability research community.1

1. For more information on ideas and teams active in this field, see the agenda and participant list of the recent Chiang Mai workshop

“Sustainable Production-Consumption Systems: Research Frontiers” at http://sustsci.harvard.edu/events/sustprodcon_agenda_v040902.pdf. For discussions of the emerging field of sustainability science, see W. C. Clark and N. M. Dickson, “Sustainability Science: The Emerging Research Program,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 100, no. 14 (2003): 8059–61; and R. W. Kates et al., “Sustainability Science,” Science, 27 April 2001, 641–42.

SOURCE: novatlantis.


NOVATLANTIS STUDIES THE “VALUE CHAIN” OF MORE SUSTAINABLE CAR USE

Biomass, renewable energy

Fuels Vehicles Consumers and stakeholders

Availability assessments

New technologies for production of

biofuels, H2

Research and development:

natural gas vehicles and fuel cell cars

Dialogues, pilot and

demonstration activities

http://sustsci.harvard.edu/events/sustprodcon_agenda_v040902.pdf

gies suggested by recent studies on bridging organizations between science and application for sustainable develop-ment.18 These studies have highlighted a number of key functions that such organizations usually perform: to con-vene stakeholders, to facilitate commu-nications between them—including the “translation” of concerns and proposed solutions between their different frames of reference—and to mediate shared decisionmaking.19 In the novatlantis work, convening the full range of stake-holders and facilitating communication and translation between them was the foundation of the process. Mediation was needed to balance stakeholders’ dif-ferent interests and arrive at the mutu-ally accepted focus for the program outlined above. But, in addition, col-laborative technology development and

implementation of concrete P&D proj-ects on the ground (described below) were found to be crucial for securing continued interest and commitment of the key stakeholders involved. These P&D activities on cutting-edge vehicle innovations are designed to function as “spearheads” for a more widespread market diffusion of currently available state-of-the-art products and services. Together, the P&D projects and the mar-ket diffusion programs are addressing

the issues of accessibility, acceptance, and affordability of more sustainable vehicle solutions.

Concerning natural gas vehicles, the first prototype demonstrating the clean engine vehicle technology was shown at the 2004 International Car Show in Geneva and then at a rally of low-emission cars in the Basel region. The next two prototypes are under construc-tion for demonstration in a long-term road test under everyday conditions in this region. As the technology shown in the CEV pilot and demonstration project was developed using technical components commonly available on the market, the emission reductions reached will more easily become accessible to customers by incorporation into mass-market models. This emission reduction potential is especially relevant in light of

the acceptance studies (the focus groups and market survey), which had shown the importance consumers place on the environmental benefits of NGVs. For this reason, public information materials on the CEV project have been devel-oped with a focus on natural gas vehi-cles’ potential to protect local air quality and the global climate. These informa-tion materials lend effective support to the regional gas industry’s awareness- raising and incentive program for natu-

ral gas vehicle buyers. The incentives given by the gas industry help to make currently available NGV models more affordable by subsidizing the still higher purchase price caused by the relatively small number of NGVs produced in the early stage of market introduction and by keeping the natural gas fuel price low. Also, the gas industry contributes to the costs of constructing the first round of gas fueling stations, again sup-porting accessibility of the technology. These combined awareness-raising and incentive programs help boost the Basel region’s gas car fleet, currently consist-ing of roughly 100 natural gas vehicles.

It is the goal of the regional gas indus-try to get 3,000 natural gas vehicles on the road in the Basel region by 2010. What would that mean for the over-all vehicle fleet? At present, there are almost 200,000 passenger cars there. However, of these, only roughly 20,000 are replaced each year. In this setting, the 3,000-vehicle goal would, under the optimistic assumption of exponential growth, mean roughly 10 percent of new car sales by 2010. To support this chal-lenging goal, the novatlantis “experi-ence space mobility” currently involves not only private consumers but also two high-potential commercial user groups for NGVs: fleet operators (mainly cor-porations with their own vehicle fleet) and taxi drivers. There are approxi-mately 600 taxis in the Basel region at present. An incentive program by the gas industry for taxi drivers has been started in 2004 with the first NGV-taxi pilot users. This program is supported by novatlantis to inform taxi drivers and their passengers on the environmental benefits of NGVs and to learn about their acceptance of current NGV models and their preferences for future model improvements. This program is targeted at getting between 50 and 100 taxi driv-ers to convert to NGVs, with the goal to show that in this highly visible pilot population, a rate of 10 percent not only of new car sales but also of vehicle fleet penetration is possible. In addition, the regional gas industry and novatlantis are collaborating on a comparative study


Researchers with the ETH domain demonstrate clean engine vehicle technology for ultra-low emission natural gas vehicles to the public at the “Rallye 21” in the Basel region.

© T

OB

IAS

BU

RK

AR

T

of natural gas and modern diesel buses and on a program to inform public transportation managers in Switzerland of the pros and cons of those different bus technologies.

The P&D projects on biomass-based methane fuel (biogas) and hydrogen-driven fuel cell vehicles are at earlier stages of development. Gas vehicles running on renewable biogas allow CO2-neutral mobility. While biogas based on fermentation of organic waste is already used in parts of Switzerland and in some other countries as a fuel

for gas vehicles, there are limits to its availability. To increase the potential of biomass-based fuels, a method for high-temperature conversion of wood to methane gas is under development within the novatlantis project “Eco-gas.” This production method is suited for large-scale industrial production. An ETH domain survey on available wood resources in Switzerland has found that with this technology alone, enough fuel could be produced to run at least 4 percent of Switzerland’s vehicle

fleet. That compares to a goal of an 8 percent CO2 reduction in Switzerland’s transport sector that the Swiss parlia-ment has set to fulfill the country’s Kyoto commitments. To make syn-thetic natural gas from wood accessible to consumers, its current production in a laboratory plant has to be scaled up, first by going to a pilot-plant level. PSI has found industry partners for the joint construction of the world’s first two-megawatt pilot plant for high-tempera-ture conversion of wood to methane in Austria. However, getting this supply

to Swiss consumers at affordable rates will take some time. The gas industry in the Basel region has shown interest in purchasing part of the output of the wood-to-methane pilot plant and mak-ing it available in the region. The eco-nomic viability of this concept depends on tax rules that are currently being harmonized between Switzerland and the European Union.

Concerning hydrogen-driven fuel cell vehicles, the citizen participation components of the novatlantis “experi-

ence space mobility” had shown high levels of interest and acceptance of consumers for this future technology. In response, the HY.POWER fuel cell prototype was shown to the public in the pilot region of Basel as a concrete demonstration of the future potential of hydrogen-based transportation. And future fuel cell vehicle developments of the ETH domain, together with industry partners, are scheduled to be demon-strated to citizens in the Basel region. While this is a highly useful element in demonstrating the bridging function of natural gas fuel via biogas to hydrogen in the long run, it has to be communi-cated very clearly to consumers that widely accessible and affordable fuel cell vehicles will not be available with-in the next 10 years. This means that public demonstrations of fuel cell vehi-cle technology are most meaningful as part of a package of P&D activities that include the practical implementation of bridging options like NGVs that are already available to consumers.

Conclusions and Outlook

What does the novatlantis experi-ence, especially when compared with the experience in Delhi (see the box on page 33), suggest concerning general opportunities for progress toward sus-tainable mobility?20 For a number of decades, mobility in OECD countries has placed considerable stress on local environments and the global climate. Currently, this problem is aggravated by the fact that many non-OECD countries show rapidly evolving new transporta-tion patterns. These place additional burdens on the local and global envi-ronment but also result in congestion and unequal access to transportation for millions of poor people. To be effective, sustainable mobility solutions must be able to make an impact in OECD and in non-OECD countries.

As discussed in the World Business Council for Sustainable Development report on sustainable mobility, clean and efficient technologies play a central


© M

AR

K H

EN

LEY—

PAN

OS

In Delhi, India, a swift, Supreme Court-mandated conversion of buses and taxis to compressed natural gas placed less emphasis on consensus than does the novatlantis project in the Basel region.

In the novatlantis pilot region of Basel, much attention is devoted to finding solutions that are acceptable to a mul-titude of societal groups, as is illustrated by the extensive efforts described in the article. That this approach seeks widespread support throughout society is especially per-tinent in a country like Switzerland, where the rules of direct democracy make every major program susceptible to challenges in public referenda. This approach places more value on consensus compared to the case of Delhi, where the decision to switch to natural gas initially trig-gered protests by taxi drivers, a strike by bus operators, and riots in which angry commuters burned buses. Such reactions could be seen as related to the fact that, while “the entire population of Delhi was affected by the Court’s decision . . . formal consultation with the public was not evident from the record” (although nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) played a central role in the debate).1 The Delhi decision led to more drastic changes in fuel use than in the case of the pilot region of Basel, where multiple options are tested and implemented step by step. In Delhi, decisionmakers were willing and able to achieve swifter change at the price of higher conflict. This illus-trates that the level of consensus needed in environmental public policy may depend on the cultural context.2 The results of consultations with citizens and other stakeholder groups have contributed to the decision in the novatlantis pilot region of Basel that while there is a strong focus on natural gas vehicles for the short-term, other solutions (biogas in the medium-term and hydrogen in the long-term, for example) are considered as well. Hybrid cars are integrated into its taxi component, and for buses, an impartial evaluation including state-of-the-art diesel technology and the prospect of liquid biomass-based synfuels in the long term is included. But in Delhi, the Supreme Court specifically mandated the use of natural gas fuel. This approach has been criticized within India but has also been described as a robust pragmatic approach given the country’s context. Performance stan-dards that leave room for different technologies would be efficient in theory but might not be enforceable in practice, as widespread evasion of such standards by fuel adulteration (substituting kerosene or even waste solvents for diesel) or by manipulation of vehicle emission inspec-tions could not be effectively prevented in the Indian institutional context.3 In the case of the Basel region, the motivation to enter into a program on innovative mobility technologies was not limited to local air quality considerations but also included the goal of contributing to climate protection by reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. By contrast, in Delhi the motivation for the Supreme Court to act and for various partners to actually implement the program was focused solely on local air quality problems. Clearly, this seems to be an example of the fact that, while there may not be a North-South divide in the level of concern for the environment, the nature of the environmental concerns

differ: Less affluent societies tend to focus primarily on immediate local environmental problems, while more affluent societies can broaden their approach to include global environmental protection.4 Here, technologies like natural gas vehicles, with benefits for local air quality as well as globally active CO2 emissions, may help regions in very different states of economic development to find common ground environmentally. Furthermore, the number of vehicles affected by the legislation in Delhi is much larger than the comparatively modest size of the demonstration and market introduction programs in the pilot region of Basel. Complementary to this, in the Swiss case, the program included pushing forward the state-of-the-art in the design of dedicated gas engine vehicles, as opposed to the Indian case, where most vehicles were converted cars based on gasoline or diesel models. Together, both programs can contribute to the development of more sustainable mobility solutions for the future. Such complementarities and synergies between programs in developed and developing countries are important, as consumption patterns in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) coun-tries often set trends emulated by other countries. It is the responsibility of OECD countries not only to reduce the resource use and environmental impact of their trans-portation systems but to do this in a fashion that provides non-OECD countries with working examples of clean, efficient transportation systems that are suitable for them. Without such leadership, it is likely developing nations will not hear the call to join developed countries in miti-gating global environmental change. Finally, in these particular cases there are favorable cultural factors involved. In the Swiss case, residents enjoy a standard of living that is roughly equal to that of the United States but use only half the energy per person. In the Indian case, it has been argued that a number of stakeholders could have played a stronger role; however, there was strong stakeholder participation at least from the NGO community, corresponding to the more devel-oped role of civil society in India as compared to many other developing countries. Thus, taken together, these two cases indicate the feasibility of a more sustainable transportation system, one that protects the local and global environment, is compatible with democratic set-tings and strong civil society, and allows high individual economic standards of living as well.

1. R. G. Bell, K. Mathur, U. Narain, and D. Simpson, “Clearing the Air: How Delhi Broke the Logjam on Air Quality Reforms,” Environ-ment, April 2004, 22–39. 2. See R. O’Malley and A. Janetos, “Consensus on Consensus?” Environment, July/August 2004, 11–12. 3. See Bell, Mathur, and Narain, note 1 above. 4. R. W. Kates, “A Global Environmental Divide?” Environment, March 2004, editorial.

COMPARING EXPERIENCES IN THE BASEL REGION AND IN DELHI


role for any journey toward sustainable mobility.21 For an integrated solution of the problem sketched above, clean technologies that are of interest for developed and developing countries are especially pertinent. The potential for such shared interest is especially high with technologies that have local as well as global environmental benefits. Ide-ally, such technologies should also open long-term opportunities for a global shift toward renewable energy.22

Private cars, taxis, and buses run-ning on natural gas are not the only option but are a highly promising one in this context. They lower emissions that compromise local air quality and CO2 emissions that endanger the global cli-mate system. In addition, they prepare the transportation system for gaseous fuels based on renewables: renewable methane (biogas) in the short term and hydrogen from renewable sources in the long term. This approach complements other technologies like hybrid cars and liquid biomass-based synfuels that also have the potential to make significant contributions and are an important part

in the development of a menu of suit-able technologies.

When such cleaner technologies have been demonstrated in early applications, public-private partnerships are essen-tial elements to turn them into work-able solutions in the mass market. As a basis for these, many stakeholders must go through social learning processes. Policymakers, the car industry, and con-sumers have to become aware of and form preferences about the technology

as well as the likely implications of its integration into social systems. Only when such learning processes enable true dialogues within society will high-level coordination between public pol-icy, firms, and NGOs about targets for applying the innovative solutions have a stable foundation. Finally, such pub-lic-private partnerships should not stop at assessments and visions if they are intended to make a real impact. Rather, they should tackle manageable sections of the market and demonstrate con-crete successes there. For this, regional pilots are needed to test and demonstrate how the new technology can become

accessible and affordable in a manner that garners acceptance of suppliers and users. Such successful regional pilots are important precursors for the wide-spread development of infrastructure needed for the new technology—such as fuel stations—and its integration in multimodal transport systems. (For a schematic overview of the steps dis-cussed above, see Figure 3 below).

With these lessons in mind, the novat-lantis mobility work in the pilot region of

Basel strives to build and sustain public-private partnerships that demonstrate a path toward more sustainable mobility—one that is expected to be based on fuel-cell vehicles run on renewably produced hydrogen in the long term, but for which renewable methane-fuel from wood and comparatively low-carbon natural gas fuel are important mid- and near-term steps. These collaborations are inspired by Kofi Annan’s suggestion that concern-ing sustainable development, “the most creative agents of change may well be partnerships—among governments, pri-vate businesses, nonprofit organizations, scholars, and concerned citizens.”23


Figure 3. A path toward sustainable mobility solutions

Clean technology

Build up infrastructure

Integrate in multimodal system

High-level coordination

Social learning

Regional pilots: accessibility, affordability, acceptance

Public-private partnership

SOURCE: Adapted from S. F. Lienin, How Can the Private Sector Benefit from Contributing to the UN Millennium Goals? Working Group D, report prepared for the 5th International Sustainability Forum, http://www.sustainability-zurich.org/ international/pdf/pdf04/TSF04_WSD_Report.pdf.

Stephan F. Lienin is a director of sustainserv, a man-agement consulting firm with offices in Boston and Zurich that focuses on linking sustainability and busi-ness. In his consulting work, he helps organizations develop, implement, and communicate sustainability strategies, including projects with a focus on sustain-able mobility. He is also a visiting scientist at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and has developed system dynamics tools for the strategic analysis of the market diffusion of technological innovations. He primar-ily works out of sustainserv’s Zurich office, where he may be reached at stephan.lienin@sustainserv .com. Bernd Kasemir is a director of sustainserv, and his consulting focuses on supporting organizations in managing their sustainability programs and in integrating sustainability aspects in corporate com-munications. He is also a visiting scientist at PSI, has worked on sustainability needs by the financial sector, and has developed methods for stakeholder dialogues, as discussed in his book, Public Participation in Sustainability Science: A Handbook (Cambridge Uni-versity Press, 2003). Kasemir primarily works out of sustainserv’s Boston office and may be contacted at [email protected]. Roland Stulz is the executive director of novatlantis—sustainability at the ETH domain, Switzerland. Stulz is also a managing partner of Amstein + Walthert Ltd., one of the largest Swiss engineering companies with a strong focus on energy efficiency in building construction and facil-ity management. Stulz was president of the Energy Commission of the Swiss Association of Engineers and Architects (SIA) and is member of the board of The Sustainability Forum Zurich. He may be reached at [email protected]. Alexander Wokaun is a pro-fessor of chemistry at the Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at ETH Zurich and heads the General Energy Research Department at PSI. His department’s research program comprises processes for the use of regenerative energies, chemical and electro-chemical methods of energy storage, techniques on the low emission combustion of fossil fuels, efficient energy conversion in low temperature fuel cells, and a com-prehensive analysis of ecological and economic con-sequences of energy consumption. He may be reached at [email protected]. This article builds upon research supported in part by a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foun-dation for the Initiative on Science and Technology for Sustainability-ISTS based at Harvard University, and in part by novatlantis—sustainability at the ETH domain and its network partners for the project “experience space mobility.” It is a pleasure for the authors to thank the stakeholders and citizens from the Basel region whose participation in dialogues and focus groups were essential for the project discussed here. The authors are also extremely grateful to the members of the Steering Committee Mobility of the pilot region of Basel—including representatives of the Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft cantonal depart-ments of environmental protection, the regional gas industry (GVM and IWB), the Swiss Federal Office of

Energy, and the Chamber of Commerce of both can-tons of Basel—for very stimulating and constructive discussions on the shared development of the project, as well as a number of colleagues from the ETH domain, Harvard University, and other academic insti-tutions who have helped us with their insightful com-ments. Particularly, we want to thank the following individuals for their valuable input: Christian Bach, Michael Bächlin, Armin Binz, Serge Biollaz, William C. Clark, Philipp Dietrich, Nancy Dickson, Meinrad K. Eberle, Matthew Gardner, Fritz Gassmann, Ruth Greenspan Bell, Christoph Hartmann, John Heywood, Patricia Holm, Jill Jäger, Felix Jehle, Dominik Keller, Rita Kohlermann, André Moosmann, Werner Müller, Martin Pulfer, Forest Reinhardt, Franz Saladin, Kurt Schmidlin, Sven Schlittler, Roland Scholz, Samuel Stucki, Erwin Tschan, Silvia Ulli-Beer, Hans Wach, and Alexander Zehnder.

NOTES

1. W. Harrington and V. McConnell, “A Lighter Tread? Policy and Technology Options for Motor Vehicles,” Environment, November 2003, 22–39. 2. R. G. Bell, K. Mathur, U. Narain, and D. Simp-son, “Clearing the Air: How Delhi Broke the Logjam on Air Quality Reforms,” Environment, April 2004, 22–39 3. A detailed description of novatlantis as a bridg-ing organization between science and sustainability has been given in S. F. Lienin, B. Kasemir, and R. Stulz, Bridging Science with Application for Sustainability: Private-Public Partnerships in the Novatlantis Pilot-Region of Basel (Duebendorf, Switzerland: novatlan-tis—sustainability at the ETH domain, 2004). 4. For 2002, the World Development Indicator Database, published by the World Bank, reports Swit-zerland and the United States to be among the top 10 countries with regard to per capita Gross National Income (GNI) in current U.S. dollars (Atlas method) and in purchase power parity: GNI was $36,170 for Switzerland and $35,400 for the United States, and pur-chasing power parity GNI was $31,840 for Switzerland and $36,110 for the United States. The World Bank, 2004 World Development Indicators (Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2004). 5. In a recent ranking of environmental public policy in the world’s richest economies, the United States received 1 out of 10 possible points, while Japan received 4 and Germany 6; Switzerland received the top score of 7.2. See M. A. Schreurs, “Divergent Paths: Environmental Policy in Germany, the United States, and Japan,” Environment, October 2003, 8–17. For energy use in Watts per capita, the World Bank reported 5,162 for Switzerland and 10,651 for the United States for 2001 (The World Bank, note 4 above). 6. The ETH domain is the Swiss federal network of research and higher education on science and technol-ogy. It includes ETH Zurich, EPFL Lausanne, and the four Swiss National Labs: PSI (focused on large-scale facilities and energy research), EMPA (focused on mate-rials science), EAWAG (focused on water research), and WSL (focused on natural resources). 7. Other major issues addressed are sustainability and buildings, especially with regard to energy use, and sustainable landscape and resource management, including assessing and protecting the energy resources embedded in Swiss forests. 8. Harrington and McConnell, see note 1 above. 9. In addition, an “ETH-UNS case study” within the context of novatlantis is currently looking at alter-native development options for the two main railway stations in Basel and their surrounding neighborhoods that could increase public transport use in the Basel region even further. See http://www.novatlantis.ch, and

choose the following links: projects/mobility/case study “sustainable mobility.” 10. Battery-electric systems are feasible but seem to have limited potential for mass application because of their limited functionality exhibited in earlier field tests.

11. One estimate is that they will mainly stay con-fined to research and development for the next 10 years, will find niche applications in the 10 years after that, will begin to enter mass markets 10 years later, and may have conquered most of the transportation markets a decade or two later, i.e. 40 to 50 years from now.

12. For a comprehensive study of social learning in the context of sustainability issues, see Social Learning Group, ed., Learning to Manage Global Environmental Risks (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001).

13. Concerning the need to include strong stakehold-er and consumer involvement in initiatives for bringing science and technology to bear on sustainable develop-ment, see also B. Kasemir, F. Gassmann, S. F. Lienin, C. C. Jaeger, and A. Wokaun, “Public-Driven Response to Global Environmental Change,” in M. K. Tolba, ed., Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Change, Vol. 4, Responding to Global Environmental Change (London: John Wiley & Sons, 2002), 21–35.

14. Organizations bridging between science and application in practical decision contexts are also termed “boundary organizations.” See D. H. Guston, “Princi-pal-Agent Theory and the Structure of Science Policy,” Science and Public Policy 23, no. 4 (1996): 229–40. For a discussion of the importance for bridging organiza-tions to keep a balance between credibility, legitimacy, and saliency as seen from different stakeholders, see D. W. Cash et al., “Knowledge Systems for Sustainable Development,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 100 no. 14 (2003): 8086–91. 15. C. Bach et al., Clean Engine Vehicle: A Natural Gas Driven Euro-4/SULEV with 30% Reduced CO2-Emissions, SAE Technical Paper Series 2004-01-0645 (Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers—SAE, 2004). 16. For more information on the Ecogas project, see http://www.novatlantis.ch, and choose the following links: projects/energy supply/Ecogas.

17. P. Dietrich et al., "Hy.Power—A Technology Platform Combining a Fuel Cell System and a Super-capacitor,” in Handbook of Fuel Cells—Fundamentals, Technology and Applications, Volume 4, Part 2 (Chich-ester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 2003), 1184–98. 18. Further information on recent research concern-ing bridging organizations and their functions is avail-able from the international Initiative on Science and Technology (ISTS), http://sustsci.harvard.edu/ists/. 19. See D. W. Cash, “Innovative Natural Resource Management: Nebraska’s Model for Linking Science and Decisionmaking,” Environment, December 2003, 8–20.

20. This section is informed by discussions at the workshop “Sustainable Mobility” at the 5th International Sustainability Forum Zurich, 26–27 August 2004. We are indebted to the workshop participants for sharing their insights, especially to Charles Nicholson, Group Senior Advisor, BP; Husayn Anwar, regional HSSE Director, BP; Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chairman, IPCC; and Serge de Klebnikoff, UNIDO Environmentally Sound Technologies Program China.

21. World Business Council for Sustainable Devel-opment, Mobility 2030: Meeting the Challenges to Sustainability (Geneva: WBCSD, 2004). 22. For a discussion on increased opportunities for renewable energy use, see A. V. Herzog, T. E. Lip-man, J. L. Edwards, and D. M. Kammen, “Renewable Energy: A Viable Choice,” Environment, December 2001, 8–20. 23. Kofi A. Annan, “Toward a Sustainable Future,” Environment, September 2002, 10–15.


Subscribe to

for the best analysesof science and policy

for sustainable development

®

http://www.novatlantis.ch

http://www.novatlantis.ch

partnerships for sustainable mobility€¦ · solutions based on renewable meth-ane (“biogas”)...

Documents