Greg Keoleian is Driving Sustainable Transportation

Greg Keoleian is focused on the “system as a whole” when it comes to decarbonizing transportation.

As Peter M. Wege Endowed Professor of Sustainable Systems in the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), professor of civil and environmental engineering and co-director of the Center for Sustainable Systems (CSS) and the MI Hydrogen Initiative, Keoleian’s leadership in interdisciplinary transportation research is evident in projects ranging from domestic sourcing of battery materials to optimal electric vehicle charging and vehicle rightsizing.

Keoleian’s research with the Center for Sustainable Systems’ transportation builds upon three decades of collaboration with experts from the College of Engineering, SEAS, the Michigan EV Center, the U-M Battery Lab, the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), MCity, Physics, Earth and Environmental Sciences (EARTH), the Ross School of Business, the Ford School of Public Policy and the Department of Economics.

“The University of Michigan is a leader in analyzing and creating interdisciplinary solutions to decarbonize transportation,” Keoleian said.

“The Center for Sustainable Systems and our cross-campus partners are the ideal research team to analyze strategies and solutions spanning materials production, vehicle manufacturing, use and end-of-life management, especially given our diverse expertise and our many collaborations with the automotive industry, suppliers and national labs.”

We are advancing systems analysis research through partnerships with national labs, such as Argonne National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the U.S. EPA National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. For example, Keoleian’s research group utilizes and helps enhance Argonne National Laboratory’s Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions and Energy use in Technologies (GREET) model. His team also applies Argonne’s Autonomie model, which simulates vehicle energy consumption across vehicle classes, powertrains and levels of future technology development. Additionally, Keoleian’s team has characterized the greenhouse gas emissions for electric vehicle (EV) charging over time as the grid decarbonizes, using National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Cambium model.

His team collaborates extensively with the automotive and materials industries, including Ford Motor Co., General Motors, Stellantis and their suppliers. These collaborations span multiple industry studies, including two current Ford-UM Alliance projects. The first focuses on the life cycle assessment of battery materials and other EV materials, analyzing whether North American mineral deposits can meet future demand and enhance supply chain resilience. After recently completing a study of graphite for EV batteries, his team is now researching rare earth elements used in magnets for EV traction motors, in collaboration with Steve Kesler, a geology and geochemistry expert in EARTH.

The second Ford Alliance project involves life cycle assessment of fuel cell and electric vehicles for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, drawing heavily on the MI Hydrogen Initiative’s research into hydrogen’s role in decarbonizing transportation.

In addition, Keoleian leads the Framework for Sustainable Battery Management, sponsored by the Responsible Battery Coalition. His research is developing a framework which includes metrics and principles to guide the life cycle management and sustainability of EV batteries.

Keoleian’s research also continues to evaluate the total cost of ownership, including purchase, fuel, insurance and maintenance of electric vehicles compared to gasoline-powered vehicles. Working with Sabina Tompkins, an expert in computational sustainability at the School of Information, his team has compared the total cost of ownership of new vehicles and is now studying the used vehicle market, given that 70 percent of purchases are used vehicles.

“This research has broad societal impacts by advancing the science and by informing the automotive industry, government agencies and consumers on technology, policy and vehicle choice decisions urgently needed to reduce climate pollution,” Keoleian said.

“Accelerating EV adoption is a key transportation strategy to reduce climate pollution. Climate change impacts from flooding, wildfires, droughts and heat stress are increasing in intensity and frequency across the country. Action by industry, government and consumers is urgently needed to limit the magnitude of future damages, costs and irreversible impacts threatening the planet’s life support system.”