Summary
I am a research associate in air quality and energy at the Centre for Environmental Policy. I am part of the Integrated Assessment Unit led by Professor Helen ApSimon, where I work on the SNAPCS, COSH-AIR, and PMCOST projects.
My work originally focused on electric vehicles, which was the topic of my PhD, but has grown to include transportation, electricity systems, and air quality more broadly. I have developed a fleet turnover model for the UK that projects how the fleet will evolve under different scenarios of electrification. This model has been applied in research papers looking at EVs and in modelling for Defra to aid policy decisions. My other research contributions have shown how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted GB energy demand and emissions throughout 2020, what real-time and marginal emissions have been produced from charging EVs, and the long term impact of road transport electrification may have on PM2.5 exposure up to 2050.
In the Integrated Assessment Unit, we research air quality with a focus on how policy decisions can reduce future exposure to pollutants in the UK. Our work on the SNAPCS project involves modelling PM2.5 using the UK Integrated Assessment Model to aid policy development with Defra.
My PhD was on the impact of EVs on air quality and energy, culminating in my thesis, Electricity: Powering Vehicles and Reducing Pollution. The studentship was based within the Integrated Assessment Unit at CEP, was part of the Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet DTP at the Grantham Institute, and was part funded by the UK's Department for Transport. Before joining Imperial for my PhD in 2018, I studied Electronic & Electrical / Electrical and Information Engineering at University of Cambridge between 2013 and 2017 (MEng).
Publications
Journals
ApSimon H, Oxley T, Woodward H, et al., 2023, Integrated assessment modelling of future air quality in the UK to 2050, and synergies with net-zero strategies, Atmosphere, Vol:14, ISSN:2073-4433, Pages:1-21
Mehlig D, ApSimon H, Staffell I, 2022, Emissions from charging electric vehicles in the UK, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Vol:110, ISSN:1361-9209, Pages:1-16
Mehlig D, 2021, Electrification of road transport and the impacts on air quality and health in the UK, Atmosphere, Vol:12, ISSN:2073-4433, Pages:1-15
Mehlig D, ApSimon H, Staffell I, 2021, The impact of the UK’s COVID-19 lockdowns on energy demand and emissions, Environmental Research Letters, Vol:16, ISSN:1748-9326, Pages:1-9
Thesis Dissertations
Mehlig D, 2023, Electricity: powering vehicles & reducing pollution