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Cars, rail and planes are the dominant examples of chemistry in motion. Those modes of transportation have historically relied upon energy from fossil fuels and high density materials of construction. Petroleum, however, is becoming a more precious and valued resource and the economy of transportation depends on the mass of the vehicle, the efficiency of the power plant and the drag and friction associated with motion of the vehicle. As a result, society demands more economical production of petroleum-based fuels, development of alternative fuels and lightweight building components and more efficient and aerodynamic designs of our transportation vehicles. That, in turn, requires advances in catalysis, the development of bio-based and renewable production of fuels and lightweight, structural materials, the development of new economically viable sources of power such as hydrogen fuel cells and photovoltaics, as well as health and environmental effects of those technologies. On the one hand, chemistry will facilitate the refinery of the future, and on the other hand it will provide the means to replace the those refineries with sustainable technologies and bio- or agro-based renewable methods to use chemistry for motion.
