Abstract:

In the US, transportation activities contributed to 29% of total carbon emissions and energy consumption in 2021, with freight transportation comprising 42% of that share (USEPA, 2023). Though significant measures to decarbonize passenger transportation are currently underway, the reduction of the freight transportation sector's climate footprint still poses major challenges. Most notably, the movement of heavy goods (at high speeds over long distances) is highly energy intensive and will require large investments in alternative onboard energy storage systems and refueling facilities to replace legacy fossil fuel propulsion systems.

Importantly, alternative fuel propulsion technology vehicles (e.g., battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles) will require the location of new refueling infrastructure as (a) alternative energy refueling facilities are not compatible with current fossil fuel dispensing stations and (b) variations in energy densities and powertrain efficiencies across fuel technologies means different fuel technology vehicles have different ranges. With this in mind, I will present joint work focusing on the development of network and facility optimization models to support the decarbonization of US freight transportation operations. More specifically, in this talk I will present (i) facility location models that optimize the deployment of refueling infrastructure on transportation networks over varying time horizons and (ii) the custom solution methods developed to optimally solve large problem instances.

Bio:

Adrian Hernandez is a current Ph.D. Candidate in Northwestern University’s Transportation Program in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. At Northwestern, he is advised by Prof. Pablo Durango-Cohen, and has been conducting research on network and facility optimization with applications focused on the decarbonization of freight transportation in the U.S. Adrian received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Cornell University, where he researched algorithms for vehicle routing problems under Prof. Samitha Samaranayake and Dr. Juan Carlos Martinez Mori. Adrian has been the recipient of the LSAMP and GEM Fellowships and is a current Northwestern University Transportation Center Dissertation Year Fellow.