Connected & Autonomous Cars Increase Power, Fuel Use

A new study by the University of Michigan shows that the components and computer power to operate connected and fully autonomous vehicles could eliminate their benefits, specifically by creating more pollution than conventional cars.

Only when the world switches to 100% renewable energy will the environmental benefits of electric and connected cars be achieved, according to researchers.

The paper, published by researchers at the University of Michigan and the Ford Motor Innovation Center in February, shows that autonomous cars could have a substantial energy toll, effectively making them more polluting than current manually driven vehicles.

For their results the researchers used the 2015 US average mix for electricity generation: 34% coal, 32% natural gas, 20% nuclear, 6% hydro, 5% wind, and 3% other renewables including solar. The team tested several vehicles, including the Tesla Model S, the Ford Fusion and Waymo's Chrysler Pacifica.

The technology installed in connected vehicles and the infrastructure -- such as Vehicle-to-Everything technologies -- require a significant amount of power to operate. The results indicate that connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV) subsystems could increase vehicle energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 3% to 20% due to electronics power consumption, weight, drag, and data transmission.

~wMe~