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Scaling Clean Energy

Transportation

Accelerating clean, efficient transportation for all.

RMI is modernizing the way in which people and goods move

Working with local governments, manufacturers, fleets, industry, and communities, our experts focus on electrification and other innovations to build a cleaner, more affordable transportation system for tomorrow.

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We must meet growing demand for mobility worldwide without increasing costs or harmful pollution

RMI is seizing the opportunity to make commercial and passenger trips more efficient at a global scale. These efforts will reduce air pollution, climate emissions, and household spending as well as lower dependency on oil and gas imports. These shifts also improve access to mobility and enhance public health.

20 million

20 million

new electric vehicles (passenger and light-duty) were sold globally in 2025

80%–95%

80%–95%

of minerals are recoverable with current battery recycling practices

80%

80%

of the nearly 9 million barrels of gasoline used daily in the US to fuel passenger vehicles is wasted as heat and through friction

Transportation Initiatives

Electrifying Freight

Significantly reducing emissions, improving public health and air quality, and helping fleets save money through electrification.

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Advancing Resilient Supply Chains

RMI’s Battery Circular Economy Initiative supports a resilient battery supply chain that can help ethically meet growing EV demand.

 

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Connecting EVs to the Grid

Scaling effective electric vehicle charging to get dramatically more EVs connected to the grid.

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Enhancing Mobility Access

Partnering with planners, policymakers, and industry to scale access to affordable, clean transportation.

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Decarbonizing Aviation

RMI works with airlines, manufacturers, and others to cut aviation emissions by spurring adoption of sustainable fuels. We’re also working to avoid contrails, a major contributor to planetary warming.

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Decarbonizing Maritime Shipping

The marine shipping industry, which handles most global trade, must transition to zero-emission fuels and vessels within the next decade To achieve its goal: net zero by 2050.

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Featured Insight

Featured Insight

Tired of Volatile Gasoline Prices? Here’s a Surprising Way to Save Money

In the United States, a car buyer can begin saving money immediately by choosing a used electric vehicle instead of a gas-powered model of the same price. And EVs’ cost advantage go beyond savings at the pump, thanks to EVs’ lower ongoing maintenance costs.

Featured Transportation Resources

Explore RMI’s latest research and analysis on improving access to clean, efficient transportation.

  • The goal is no longer simply more EVs, but smarter, fairer, and more sustainable deployment — ensuring that EVs work with, not against, the systems they depend on.

    Ellen Kennedy

    RMI Principal
    Read More
    Ellen Kennedy
  • We remain far below the path of [EV] adoption that several leading states have committed to. Why? Because many of the barriers standing in the way are not solved with economies of scale and new battery technologies. These challenges require a diverse set of stakeholders with competing priorities to come to a common understanding of the problems, align on a vision for the future, and unlock transformative solutions with creativity and design thinking.

    E.J. Klock-McCook

    Senior Principal
    E.J. Klock-McCook

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