Abstract
In view of the advancement of zero emission transportation and current discussions on the reliability of nominal passenger car fuel economy, this article considers the procedure for assessing the potential for reducing the fuel consumption of passenger cars by using electric power to operate them. The analysis compares internal combustion engines, hybrid and fully electric concepts utilizing batteries and fuel cells. The starting point for the newly developed, simulation-based fuel consumption analysis is a longitudinal vehicle model. Mechanical power requirements on the drive side incorporate a large variety of standardized drive cycles to simulate typical patterns of car usage. The power requirements of electric heating and air conditioning are also included in the simulation, as these are especially relevant to electric powertrains. Moreover, on-board grid-load profiles are considered in the assessment. Fuel consumption is optimized by applying concept-specific operating strategies. The results show that the combination of low average driving speed and elevated onboard power requirements have severe impacts on the fuel efficiency of all powertrain configurations analyzed. In particular, the operational range of battery-electric vehicles is strongly affected by this due to the limited storage capacity of today’s batteries. The analysis confirms the significance of considering different load patterns of vehicle usage related to driving profiles and onboard electrical and thermal loads.
Highlights
Climate change and the corresponding imperative to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emissions, locally active pollutants, dependence on imported raw energy materials, as well as economic and technological competitiveness, are seen as global driving forces of the sought-after change in energy technology
Around 17% of all greenhouse gas emissions are caused by road traffic, with some 61% of these being attributable to passenger cars [1]
As well as the definitions of parameters relating to the vehicle body that are relevant to the powertrain component scaling, details on how component simulation models and optimizing strategies are implemented are outlined
Summary
Climate change and the corresponding imperative to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emissions, locally active pollutants, dependence on imported raw energy materials, as well as economic and technological competitiveness, are seen as global driving forces of the sought-after change in energy technology. Around 17% of all greenhouse gas emissions are caused by road traffic, with some 61% of these being attributable to passenger cars [1]. This is underpinned by strong dependence on imported crude oil, with more than 90% of fuels for road traffic being produced from this. In the mid to long term, the electricity surplus from renewable energy sources could be made usable for road traffic. Hydrogen produced via electrolysis could be stored on an industrial scale and used as a fuel for electric powertrains with highly efficient fuel cells. Significant advantages over advanced internal combustion engines (ICEs) using gasoline and diesel can already be discerned today
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