Reinventing Fire Transportation Sector Methodology

The Reinventing Fire transportation analysis evaluates efficiency pathways for U.S. autos, heavy trucks, and airplanes through 2050. It distinguishes between 'Improved Design' (technological upgrades) and 'Improved Use' (reducing vehicle-miles traveled), while incorporating a consumer adoption model for high-efficiency vehicles and a supply-cost model for inedible biofuels. The methodology integrates these findings into an economy-wide model to calculate net present value savings, estimating a total net saving of $3,757 billion in 2009 dollars.

• The analysis identifies three vehicle efficiency tiers for cars and light trucks: a baseline derived from EIA data, an 'Evolutionary' tier with 50% better fuel economy than the baseline, and a 'Revolutionary' tier consisting of superefficient battery-electric and fuel cell vehicles.
• To drive the adoption of 'Revolutionary' vehicles, the model proposes a size- and revenue-neutral feebate to be phased out 10–15 years after introduction, helping to reduce costs across learning curves for carbon fiber and batteries/fuel cells.
• The methodology estimates that a combination of design and use improvements for heavy trucks could result in a 67% cumulative reduction in fuel consumption by 2050, including a 30% technology-based efficiency gain beyond EIA baseline improvements.
• For aviation, the analysis models a transition from standard tube-and-wing configurations to advanced designs such as blended wing body (BWB) and strut-braced wing (SBW), with some advanced replacements potentially offering a 70% reduction in fuel burn per seat.
• The biofuels model focuses exclusively on inedible feedstocks—agricultural residue, mill residue, dedicated energy crops, municipal solid waste, and forestry residue—to avoid adverse effects on world food markets.
• The total estimated net savings for the transportation sector under the Reinventing Fire scenario is $3,757 billion (2009$ NPV), with the largest savings coming from autos ($2,560 billion) and trucks ($851 billion).

APA

RMI (n.d.). Reinventing Fire Transportation Sector Methodology. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/reinventingfire_transportationsectormethodology.pdf

Chicago

RMI. Reinventing Fire Transportation Sector Methodology. n.d. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/reinventingfire_transportationsectormethodology.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Reinventing Fire Transportation Sector Methodology |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/reinventingfire_transportationsectormethodology.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmindreinventing, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Reinventing Fire Transportation Sector Methodology}}, institution = {RMI}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/reinventingfire_transportationsectormethodology.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }