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Ross McCracken

Ross McCracken

Ross is an energy analyst, writer and consultant who was previously the Managing Editor of Platts Energy Economist

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How Robo-Taxis Will Impact Oil Demand

Robo-Taxi

Vehicle automation is expected to have a huge impact on demand for energy in transport, but there is very little clarity as to what the net effect will be.

A review of literature examining the issue -- Autonomous Vehicles and Energy Impacts: A Scenario Analysis, published in Energy Procedia in December 2017 -- found that the various studies undertaken pointed to anything between a 64% fall in transport energy consumption by 2050, compared with 2017, to a 205% increase.

This wide spectrum of outcomes relates to total transport energy consumption, not to the source of that energy, which was outside the scope of the study.

As a result, to determine changes in future oil demand, analysts must assess the impact of competing fuels and energy sources – biofuels, electricity, hydrogen, natural gas/LNG – and then place that analysis within the context of the behavioural changes brought about by automation.

A 50% share of electric vehicles (EVs) in the passenger vehicle fleet by 2050, for example, looks very different in the context of a 64% fall in overall energy transport demand – implying a potentially radical drop in oil demand -- when compared with a 205% increase, in which the impact of passenger vehicle electrification may be entirely negated.

Energy source

There is nothing intrinsic to automation that implies transport electrification, but there are clear synergies.

For example, while recharging time is considered a…




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