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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]

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]

Long‐haul transportation demand is predicted to increase in the future, resulting in higher carbon dioxide emissions. Different drivetrain technologies, such as hybrid or battery electric vehicles, electrified roads, liquefied natural gas and hydrogen, might offer solutions to this problem. To assess their ecological and economic impact, these concepts were simulated including a weight and cost model to estimate the total cost of ownership. An evolutionary algorithm optimizes each vehicle to find a concept specific optimal solution. A model calculates the minimum investment in infrastructure required to meet the energy demand for each concept. A well‐to‐wheel analysis takes into account upstream and on‐road carbon dioxide emissions, to compare fully electric vehicles with conventional combustion engines. Investment in new infrastructure is the biggest drawback of electrified road concepts, although they offer low CO2 emissions. The diesel hybrid is the best compromise between carbon reduction and costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the analysis and research achievements of domestic and foreign scholars regarding the vehicle life cycle assessment, in combination with the research data of relevant enterprises, the research has objectively assessed well to wheel energy efficiency of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, and performed comparative analysis with conventional gasoline vehicle, conventional diesel vehicle, natural gas vehicle, methanol vehicle and battery electric vehicle. The research results show that the range of well to wheel energy efficiency of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is between 6.8% and 29.2%, which depend much on the difference of source and transport mode of hydrogen, and the range covers several technical routes of vehicles other than battery electric vehicle which uses green electricity. The well to wheel energy efficiency under the scenario of hydrogen production from water electrolysis using renewable power such as photovoltaic and wind power is relatively high (21.9%–29.2%). The scenarios of hydrogen from methanol and grid power electrolysis are lower than other scenarios (6.8%–12.5%). The choice of hydrogen transportation mode is closely related to the distance between the production and use sites. For short and medium-distance, long-tube trailers can be used to transport gas hydrogen, and in the case of long-distance transportation, such as more than 800 km, the use of liquefaction or pipeline transportation can better ensure the energy efficiency advantage of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Nevertheless, for the same transport distance, the energy efficiency of well to wheel can be improved less effectively by increasing the hydrogen transportation capacity, and more effectively by improving the energy efficiency of the vehicle operation, the feedstock production and the hydrogen production. • HFCV WTW efficiency depends more on vehicle operation, feedstocks production, etc. • H 2 from Renewable energy has high efficiency, from grid or MeOH have less benefits. • H 2 transportation mode is closely related to the distance of production-use sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]