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In the last decade, with the increased concerns about the global environment, attempts have been made to promote the replacement of fossil fuels with sustainable sources. For transport, which accounts for around a quarter of total greenhouse gas emissions, meeting climate neutrality goals will require replacing existing fleets with electric or hydrogen-propelled vehicles. However, the lack of adequate decision support approach makes the introduction of new propulsion technologies in the transportation sector a complex strategic decision problem where distorted non-optimal decisions may easily result in long-term negative effects on the performance of logistic operators. This research addresses the problem of transport fleet renewal by proposing a multi-criteria decision-making approach and takes into account the multiple propulsion technologies currently available and the objectives of the EU Green Deal, as well as the inherent scenario uncertainty. The proposed approach, based on the TOPSIS model, involves a novel decision framework referred to as a generalized life cycle evaluation of the environmental and cost objectives, which is necessary when comparing green and traditional propulsion systems in a long-term perspective to avoid distorted decisions. Since the objective of the study is to provide a practical methodology to support strategic decisions, the framework proposed has been validated against a practical case referred to the strategic fleet renewal decision process. The results obtained demonstrate how the decision maker's perception of the technological evolution of the propulsion technologies influences the decision process, thus leading to different optimal choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, with the increased concerns about the global environment, attempts have been made to promote the replacement of fossil fuels with sustainable sources. For transport, which accounts for around a quarter of total greenhouse gas emissions, meeting climate neutrality goals will require replacing existing fleets with electric or hydrogen-propelled vehicles. However, the lack of adequate decision support approach makes the introduction of new propulsion technologies in the transportation sector a complex strategic decision problem where distorted non-optimal decisions may easily result in long-term negative effects on the performance of logistic operators. This research addresses the problem of transport fleet renewal by proposing a multi-criteria decision-making approach and takes into account the multiple propulsion technologies currently available and the objectives of the EU Green Deal, as well as the inherent scenario uncertainty. The proposed approach, based on the TOPSIS model, involves a novel decision framework referred to as a generalized life cycle evaluation of the environmental and cost objectives, which is necessary when comparing green and traditional propulsion systems in a long-term perspective to avoid distorted decisions. Since the objective of the study is to provide a practical methodology to support strategic decisions, the framework proposed has been validated against a practical case referred to the strategic fleet renewal decision process. The results obtained demonstrate how the decision maker’s perception of the technological evolution of the propulsion technologies influences the decision process, thus leading to different optimal choices.

In this work, the results of carbon footprint evaluation of both an internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) and battery electric vehicle (BEV), considering the Ecuador energy scene, is presented. For this purpose, Well-to-Wheel analysis was used, firstly determining the electric energy generation matrix of the country. First, the KIA Soul vehicle and KIA Soul EV (electric version) were considered study cases. Then, manufacturers' technical characteristics were used to determine each vehicular technology's carbon footprint and considerations such as util life-route driving, fuel path, util life-time and replacement of batteries, and emissions due to chassis and body vehicle. Obtained results allowed for determining that greenhouse gas emissions in Ecuador due to the ICEV is 236.16 gCO2/km. On the other hand, the BEV emitted 63.14 gCO2/km, significantly barely 27%of emissions. These results represent a positive impact on reducing ambient contamination indices and reinforce the necessity for accelerating the change in the country's energy matrix toward a cleaner and more sustainable energy generation

The real environment impacts the fuel and energy consumption of any vehicle: technology, physical and social phenomena, traffic, drivers' behaviour, and so on; many of them are difficult to quantify. The authors' methodology was used to test the real impact of vehicles in "standard" urban conditions, and many generations of hybrid powertrains are compared. One of the latest performance indexes is the percentage of time the vehicle runs with zero emissions (ZEV). For example, the hybrid vehicle tested ran up to 80% with no emissions and fuel consumption below 3 L per 100 km. A few energy performance indicators were compared between five vehicles: one battery electric vehicle (BEV), two hybrid gasoline–electric vehicles (HEVs), and two traditional vehicles (one diesel and one gasoline). Their potential to use only renewable energy is unrivalled, but today's vehicles' performances favour hybrid power trains. This paper summarises the most sustainable powertrain for urban use by comparing experimental data from on-road testing. It also evaluates the benefits of reducing emissions by forecasting the Italian car fleet of 2025 and three use cases of the evolution of car fleets, with a focus on Rome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The option of decarbonizing urban freight transport using battery electric vehicle (BEV) seems promising. However, there is currently a strong debate whether fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) might be the better solution. The question arises as to how a fleet of FCEV influences the operating cost, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and primary energy demand in comparison to BEVs and to Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle (ICEV). To investigate this, we simulate the urban food retailing as a representative share of urban freight transport using a multi-agent transport simulation software. Synthetic routes as well as fleet size and composition are determined by solving a vehicle routing problem. We compute the operating costs using a total cost of ownership analysis and the use phase emissions as well as primary energy demand using the well to wheel approach. While a change to BEV results in 17–23% higher costs compared to ICEV, using FCEVs leads to 22–57% higher costs. Assuming today’s electricity mix, we show a GHG emission reduction of 25% compared to the ICEV base case when using BEV. Current hydrogen production leads to a GHG reduction of 33% when using FCEV which however cannot be scaled to larger fleets. Using current electricity in electrolysis will increase GHG emission by 60% compared to the base case. Assuming 100% renewable electricity for charging and hydrogen production, the reduction from FCEVs rises to 73% and from BEV to 92%. The primary energy requirement for BEV is in all cases lower and for higher compared to the base case. We conclude that while FCEV have a slightly higher GHG savings potential with current hydrogen, BEV are the favored technology for urban freight transport from an economic and ecological point of view, considering the increasing shares of renewable energies in the grid mix.

Renewable hydrogen and batteries are pivotal not only for promoting renewable energy adoption but also for serving as key components in electric vehicles. While multiple hydrogen-based and battery-based pathways exist for linking renewable energy to automotive powertrains, comprehensive evaluations of them are lacking, especially in the context of long-distance energy transmission in China. This study aims to fill this gap by offering an in-depth well-to-wheel (WTW) analysis of costs and CO 2 emissions across various pathways. The pathways involve two energy storage mediums - hydrogen and battery, five transport options, and three automotive powertrains - Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle (ICEV), Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV), and Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV). How the electricity price, storage duration, and transport distance influence these pathways is also examined. The results show that the battery-based pathway offers the lowest WTW cost and CO 2 emissions in BEV applications. Hydrogen-based pathways are not economically feasible for ICEVs. Importantly, the indirect use of hydrogen in BEVs - H 2 for power generation - outperforms its direct use in FCEVs and ICEVs in both cost and emissions. The battery-based pathway is significantly affected by storage duration and becomes less feasible for durations exceeding one day. The most cost-efficient hydrogen transport methods are identified for different transport distances and electricity prices. This research may provide valuable insights for the planning of the hydrogen industry, automotive decarbonization and renewable energy development in China. [Display omitted] • A holistic Well-to-Wheel analysis is conducted on renewable energy-based pathways. • The Battery-based pathway shows lowest cost and emissions. • Indirect hydrogen use for power generation outperforms direct hydrogen refueling. • Hydrogen pathways excel for day-long energy storage. • Various hydrogen pathways are compared under different scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The option of decarbonizing urban freight transport using battery electric vehicle (BEV) seems promising. However, there is currently a strong debate whether fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) might be the better solution. The question arises as to how a fleet of FCEV influences the operating cost, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and primary energy demand in comparison to BEVs and to Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle (ICEV). To investigate this, we simulate the urban food retailing as a representative share of urban freight transport using a multi-agent transport simulation software. Synthetic routes as well as fleet size and composition are determined by solving a vehicle routing problem. We compute the operating costs using a total cost of ownership analysis and the use phase emissions as well as primary energy demand using the well to wheel approach. While a change to BEV results in 17–23% higher costs compared to ICEV, using FCEVs leads to 22–57% higher costs. Assuming today's electricity mix, we show a GHG emission reduction of 25% compared to the ICEV base case when using BEV. Current hydrogen production leads to a GHG reduction of 33% when using FCEV which however cannot be scaled to larger fleets. Using current electricity in electrolysis will increase GHG emission by 60% compared to the base case. Assuming 100% renewable electricity for charging and hydrogen production, the reduction from FCEVs rises to 73% and from BEV to 92%. The primary energy requirement for BEV is in all cases lower and for higher compared to the base case. We conclude that while FCEV have a slightly higher GHG savings potential with current hydrogen, BEV are the favored technology for urban freight transport from an economic and ecological point of view, considering the increasing shares of renewable energies in the grid mix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study explores net carbon-neutral road transport options in the EU27 in 2050 from a well-to-wheel (WtW) perspective. To this aim, three scenarios have been developed regarding the evolution of the road vehicle fleet composition in terms of the degree of electrification of powertrains, and technical measures such as vehicle efficiency improvements, transport flow, and transport volumes have been considered. The fleet scenarios are further combined with four scenarios deploying different mixes of alternative fuels in 2050, including electricity, e-fuels, liquid/gaseous advanced biofuels and remaining fossil fuel components. Two different electricity production pathways are considered, as well, one of them assuming fully renewable electricity production, and an alternative one including residual shares of nuclear and natural gas power plants plus carbon capture and storage. The Joint Research Centre's DIONE model was used for the scenario calculations. From a tank-to-wheel (TtW) perspective, each scenario reduces energy consumption, mainly due to powertrain electrification, with EU27 TtW road vehicle energy consumption in 2050 ranging from roughly 650 to 1650 TWh, which is 20%–53% of that of 2019. For the most strongly electrified fleet scenario with optimistic assumptions on measures to improve vehicle efficiency, transport flow and transport volumes and renewable electricity production, well-to-tank (WtT) energy consumption is around 110–160 TWh, depending on the fuel scenario. If a moderately electrified fleet is propelled with e-fuels, even when assuming fully renewable electricity and optimistic measures, the WtT energy consumption increases ten times or more, to 1300 TWh (2150 TWh with pessimistic measures). The results show that fleet electrification is the strongest lever for WtW transport energy consumption reduction among the options considered. Other efficiency measures contribute significantly to energy savings, but their benefit decreases with increasing fleet electrification. The production pathways of fuels make a substantial difference for WtW fleet energy requirement if the fleet is moderately electrified, in which case e-fuels require significant amounts of additional renewable electricity. Nevertheless, fuel production pathways become irrelevant from an energetic point of view under very ambitious electrification scenarios since fuel volumes become marginal. The economic feasibility and the societal acceptability of different pathways towards WtW carbon-neutrality of road transport is out of scope of this paper and requires further investigation. • The study examines well-to-wheel scenarios for 2050 carbon neutral road transport. • Electrification is the strongest driver in transport energy consumption reduction. • Vehicle efficiency and activity impacts decrease with fleet electrification. • With high fleet electrification fuel production barely impacts energy consumption. • E-fuels require particularly large amounts of additional renewable electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental issues are an increasingly important aspect of management in the transport sector; new methods have been developed for assessment of the environment in the transport sector using the life cycle approach. The paper presents the application of Well to Wheel (WTW) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in the transport sector. The WTW method focuses on energy analysis and greenhouse gas emissions during the life cycle of fuels. WTW is used to support decision-making on the environmental aspects of transport, particularly with regard to fuel life cycle management, but this method omits important stages in the life cycle, particularly the ones regarding important circular economy guidelines such as reduction of natural resource consumption, impact on human health, etc. The LCA method provides a much broader approach to environmental assessment than WTW. LCA takes into consideration environmental impact in the whole life cycle of the vehicle, from the stage of production, through the period of exploitation, and finally its disposal.

Interests in evaluating lifecycle energy use in urban transport have been growing as a research topic. Various studies have evaluated the relationship between the intracity transport energy use and population density and commonly identified its negative correlation. However, a diachronic transition in an individual city has yet to be fully analyzed. As such, this study employed transport energy intensity widely used for evaluating transport energy efficiency and obtained the transport energy intensity for each transportation means including walk, bicycle, automobile (conventional vehicles, electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles), bus and electric train by considering the lifecycle energy consumption. Then, the intracity lifecycle transport energy intensity of 38 cities in Japan in 1987–2015 was computed, assuming that the cause of diachronic transition of intracity transport energy efficiency is the modal shifting and electricity mix change. As a result, the greater level of population density was associated with the lower intracity transport energy intensity in Japanese cities. The negative slope of its regression line increased over time since the intracity lifecycle transport energy intensity in cities with low population density continuously increased without any significant change of population density. Finally, this study discussed the strategic implications particularly in regional areas to improve the intracity lifecycle transport energy efficiency.

Environmental issues are an increasingly important aspect of management in the transport sector; new methods have been developed for assessment of the environment in the transport sector using the life cycle approach. The paper presents the application of Well to Wheel (WTW) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in the transport sector. The WTW method focuses on energy analysis and greenhouse gas emissions during the life cycle of fuels. WTW is used to support decision-making on the environmental aspects of transport, particularly with regard to fuel life cycle management, but this method omits important stages in the life cycle, particularly the ones regarding important circular economy guidelines such as reduction of natural resource consumption, impact on human health, etc. The LCA method provides a much broader approach to environmental assessment than WTW. LCA takes into consideration environmental impact in the whole life cycle of the vehicle, from the stage of production, through the period of exploitation, and finally its disposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study modelled the Passenger (PC) fleet and other categories of road transport in Ireland from 2015 to 2035 to assess the impact of current and potential greenhouse gas mitigation policies on CO 2 emissions. Scenarios included the shift of purchasing towards diesel PCs over gasoline PCs. Scrappage rates were also calculated and applied to the fleet to predict future sales of PCs. Seven future policy scenarios were examined using different penetrations of PC sales for different vehicle technologies under current and alternative bio-fuel obligations. Tank to Wheel (T2W) tailpipe and Well to Wheel (W2W) CO 2 emissions, and energy demand were modelled using COPERT 4v11.3 and a recently published W2W CO 2 emissions model. A percentage reduction of conventional diesel and petrol vehicles, in different scenarios compared to a baseline scenario in the W2W model was applied to estimate the likely changes in T2W emissions at the tailpipe up to 2035. The results revealed that the biofuel policy scenario was insufficient in achieving a significant reduction of CO 2 emissions. However, without a fixed reduction target for CO 2 from the road transport sector, the success of policy scenarios in the long run is difficult to compare. The current Electric vehicle (EV) policy in Ireland is required to be implemented to reduce CO 2 emissions by a significant level. Results also show that a similar achievement of CO 2 emission reduction could be possible by using alternative vehicle technologies with higher abatement cost. However, as EV based policies have not been successful so far, Ireland may need to search for alternative pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Replacing petroleum fuels with biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel has been shown to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These GHG benefits can potentially be traded in the fledgling carbon markets, and methodologies for quantifying and trading are still being developed. We review the main challenges in developing such carbon trading frameworks and outline a proposed framework for the US, the main features of which include, lifecycle assessment of GHG benefits, a combination of project-specific and standard performance measures, and assigning GHG property rights to biofuel producers. At carbon prices of 10 $ t−1, estimated monetary benefits from such trading can be 4.5 M$ hm−3 and 17 M$ hm−3 of corn ethanol and cellulosic ethanol respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Interests in evaluating lifecycle energy use in urban transport have been growing as a research topic. Various studies have evaluated the relationship between the intracity transport energy use and population density and commonly identified its negative correlation. However, a diachronic transition in an individual city has yet to be fully analyzed. As such, this study employed transport energy intensity widely used for evaluating transport energy efficiency and obtained the transport energy intensity for each transportation means including walk, bicycle, automobile (conventional vehicles, electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles), bus and electric train by considering the lifecycle energy consumption. Then, the intracity lifecycle transport energy intensity of 38 cities in Japan in 1987–2015 was computed, assuming that the cause of diachronic transition of intracity transport energy efficiency is the modal shifting and electricity mix change. As a result, the greater level of population density was associated with the lower intracity transport energy intensity in Japanese cities. The negative slope of its regression line increased over time since the intracity lifecycle transport energy intensity in cities with low population density continuously increased without any significant change of population density. Finally, this study discussed the strategic implications particularly in regional areas to improve the intracity lifecycle transport energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]