The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory has introduced a groundbreaking tool called Autonomie Express, designed to simulate real-world vehicle traffic and predict large-scale energy impacts. This tool aims to assist transport and mobility companies, researchers, and city planners in estimating energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions for a wide range of vehicles, both current and future.

Phillip Sharer, manager of Argonne's model-based systems engineering group, explains, "You can explore scenarios like what happens if 50% of vehicles are battery electric—how would that affect traffic flow?" Over the past two decades, transportation has become increasingly complex with advancements in powertrain technology, vehicle intelligence, and the mix of conventional, hybrid, and electric vehicles on the road.

Autonomie Express features an extensive library of vehicle types, from light-duty passenger cars to heavy-duty trucks, modeling their powertrains, fuel economy, and battery usage. It even includes future vehicle models projected through 2050, based on manufacturer specifications.

"The simulations in Autonomie Express cover all modern vehicles currently on the road and those expected in the next two decades," says Ram Vijayagopal, manager of the vehicle and technology assessment group. "With over 5,000 full vehicle models to choose from, transportation engineers can create realistic simulations of present and future fleets."

Autonomie Express simplifies the process for stakeholders to assess the impact of their current practices and vehicle fleets. It can estimate potential savings from switching to electric vehicles or the energy consumption impact of rush-hour traffic.

The tool integrates with various traffic flow simulation tools like Aimsun, PTV Vissim, Eclipse SUMO, and Argonne's POLARIS to model the effects of new technologies such as electrification, connectivity, and automation at scale.

Led by Aymeric Rousseau, director of the vehicle and mobility systems department, the development team designed Autonomie Express to be user-friendly. "Vehicle selection and connection with simulation tools have been streamlined through a graphical user interface. Pre-defined fleets for multiple scenarios provide ready-to-go solutions for researchers to accurately estimate energy impacts," Rousseau explains.

Autonomie Express is now available free of charge with a license, encouraging users to adopt more energy-efficient and environmentally responsible transportation options.