Conventional Gasoline Vehicles Research Articles

A game-theoretic approach for electric vehicle adoption and policy decisions under different market structures

The transport sector is one of the largest contributors to rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the world. With no tailpipe emissions, electric vehicles (EVs) can be one of the ways to reduce GHG emissions. In recent years, many countries have taken steps to promote the penetration of EVs in the market. Using different policy instruments, in particular, taxes and subsidies are one of the more common approaches. In this paper, using a game-theoretic approach, we study the effect of using a combination of subsidy on EV and green-tax on conventional gasoline vehicles (GV) on overall social welfare, environmental impact, and vehicle stock in monopoly and duopoly forms of market structures. Findings reveal that a combination of subsidy and green-tax can generate higher social welfare as compared to the use of only one of them under both monopoly and duopoly markets. The results provide multifaceted insights for policymakers and governments to design the subsidy and green-tax based on the environmental impact of GVs and EVs along with maximising the social welfare.

Life cycle water use of gasoline and electric light-duty vehicles in China

The cradle-to-grave life cycle water withdrawal and consumption for typical light-duty gasoline and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) produced and operated in China is estimated for the first time. The life cycle withdrawal and consumption are 275 and 137 m3 for the gasoline, and 851 and 262 m3 for the electric Ford Focus (using national average grid electricity). The life cycle water estimates are dominated by water used for fuel production (gasoline or electricity). For the current national average grid, BEVs are more water intensive than conventional gasoline vehicles although the transition towards more solar and wind power will narrow this gap. The Focus BEV, if produced and operated on solar photovoltaic electricity, will have life cycle water withdrawal and consumption of 181 and 47 m3. Using wind electricity, the water withdrawal and consumption can be further reduced to 113 and 43 m3. Life cycle water withdrawal associated with vehicle use in China is approximately a factor of 2–4 lower than in the U.S. reflecting lower water withdrawal for electricity generation in China. Life cycle water consumption of BEVs in China is 50 % higher than in the U.S., mainly reflecting a greater share of hydroelectricity in China. In addition, large regional differences in electricity generation lead to a wide range in water use of BEVs. The results highlight the importance of a transition to renewable energy, particularly solar and wind, to power future sustainable electric mobility and improved energy and water use efficiency in BEV production.

The impact of reliable range estimation on battery electric vehicle feasibility

Range limitation is a significant obstacle to market acceptance of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Range anxiety is exacerbated when drivers could not reliably predict the remaining battery range or when their journeys were unexpectedly extended. This paper quantifies the impact of reliable range estimation on BEV feasibility using GPS-tracked travel survey data, collected over an 18-month period (from November 2004 to April 2006) in the Seattle metropolitan area. BEV feasibility is quantified as the number of days when travel adaption is needed if a driver replaces a conventional gasoline vehicle (CGV) with a BEV. The distribution of BEV range is estimated based on the real-world fuel efficiency data. A driver is assumed to choose between using a BEV or a substitute gasoline vehicle, based on the cumulative prospect theory (CPT). BEV is considered feasible for a particular driver if he/she needs to use a substitute vehicle on less than 0.5% of the travel days. By varying the values of some CPT parameter, the percentage of BEV feasible vehicles could change from less than 5% to 25%. The numerical results also show that with a 50% reduction in the standard deviation and 50% increase in the mean of the BEV range distribution BEV feasibility increases from less than 5% of the sampled drivers to 30%.

H2 refueling assessment of composite storage tank for fuel cell vehicle

Hydrogen as compressed gas is a promising option for zero-emission fuel cell vehicle. The fast and efficient refueling of high pressure hydrogen can provide a convenient platform for fuel cell vehicles to compete with conventional gasoline vehicles. This paper reports the finding of adiabatic simulation of the refueling process for Type IV tank at nominal working pressure of 70 MPa with considering the station refueling conditions. The overall heat transfer involved in refueling process was investigated by heat capacity model based on MC method defined by SAE J2601. The simulation results are validated against experimental data of European Commission's Gas Tank Testing Facility at Joint Research Centre (GasTef JRC), Netherlands. The results confirmed that end temperature and state of charge significantly depends on refueling parameters mainly supply hydrogen temperature and filling rate.

Economic and Environmental Prospects for Battery Electric‐ and Fuel Cell Vehicles: A Review

AbstractDue to the pressing environmental problems coming from the transport sector, interest in electric vehicles (EVs) has increased significantly over the last decade. Although different types of EVs are available on the market, the largest contribution to the reduction of environmental problems could be made through zero‐emission vehicles, such as battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). Each of these vehicles has some advantages and disadvantages. The problem they share is the high purchase price in comparison to conventional gasoline vehicles. Through the improvement of battery performance, further technological learning and a mix of different direct and indirect supporting policy measures, the competiveness of EVs could be significantly improved. EVs could already contribute to the reduction of emissions today, however the full environmental benefit of BEVs and FCVs is related to the mix of the primary energy sources used for electricity generation and hydrogen production. The increasing use of renewable energy sources in electricity generation makes EVs more environmentally friendly. Since total emissions are also dependent on the embedded emissions of cars, their lifetime as well as their usage (specific vehicle kilometers driven per year) have significant impacts on the total emissions per km driven.

Intelligent Control of Converter for Electric Vehicles Charging Station

Electric vehicles (EVs) are envisaged to be the future transportation medium, and demonstrate energy efficiency levels much higher than conventional gasoline or diesel-based vehicles. However, the sustainability of EVs is only justified if the electricity used to charge these EVs is availed from a sustainable source of energy and not from any fossil fuel or carbon generating source. In this paper, the challenges of the EV charging stations are discussed while highlighting the growing use of distributed generators in the modern electrical grid system. The benefits of the adoption of photovoltaic (PV) sources along with battery storage devices are studied. A multiport converter is proposed for integrating the PV, charging docks, and energy storage device (ESD) with the grid system. In order to control the bidirectional flow between the generating sources and the loads, an intelligent energy management system is proposed by adapting particle swarm optimization for efficient switching between the sources. The proposed system is simulated using MATLAB/Simulink environment, and the results depicted fast switching between the sources and less switching time without obstructing the fast charging to the EVs.

Review and Trends of Thermoelectric Generator Heat Recovery in Automotive Applications

Automotive vehicles with internal combustion engines, such as conventional gasoline and electric hybrid vehicles, exhibit inherent irreversibilities that hinder them from achieving high efficiencies. These irreversibilities manifest themselves in the form of thermal losses in the engine and contribute to the total energy consumption in the transportation sector. Waste heat recovery is a method to increase the overall fuel efficiency of vehicles by recovering thermal energy that would be lost from the engine to the environment and converting it to useful energy for the vehicle. In the past years, thermoelectric generators have been intensively investigated for waste heat recovery in vehicles because they are solid-state devices that convert heat directly into electricity and hence have no moving parts, operate quietly, are relatively small, and require low maintenance. This paper presents a review of the literature on waste heat recovery in vehicles through the implementation of thermoelectric generators. First, potential sources or locations in a vehicle for waste heat recovery are presented. Second, the available thermoelectric technology for vehicle applications is reviewed. Then, the components required to create a waste heat recovery system are discussed. The approach for modeling thermoelectric generators to predict the power output is then considered. Finally, experimental investigations by researchers are presented as well as the future trends observed for waste recovery via thermoelectrics.

Estimation of CO2 Emissions of Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle and Battery Electric Vehicle Using LCA

In order to reduce vehicle emitted greenhouse gases (GHGs) on a global scale, the scope of consideration should be expanded to include the manufacturing, fuel extraction, refinement, power generation, and end-of-life phases of a vehicle, in addition to the actual operational phase. In this paper, the CO2 emissions of conventional gasoline and diesel internal combustion engine vehicles (ICV) were compared with mainstream alternative powertrain technologies, namely battery electric vehicles (BEV), using life-cycle assessment (LCA). In most of the current studies, CO2 emissions were calculated assuming that the region where the vehicles were used, the lifetime driving distance in that region and the CO2 emission from the battery production were fixed. However, in this paper, the life cycle CO2 emissions in each region were calculated taking into consideration the vehicle’s lifetime driving distance in each region and the deviations in CO2 emissions for battery production. For this paper, the US, European Union (EU), Japan, China, and Australia were selected as the reference regions for vehicle operation. The calculated results showed that CO2 emission from the assembly of BEV was larger than that of ICV due to the added CO2 emissions from battery production. However, in regions where renewable energy sources and low CO2 emitting forms of electric power generation are widely used, as vehicle lifetime driving distance increase, the total operating CO2 emissions of BEV become less than that of ICV. But for BEV, the CO2 emissions for replacing the battery with a new one should be added when the lifetime driving distance is over 160,000 km. Moreover, it was shown that the life cycle CO2 emission of ICV was apt to be smaller than that of BEV when the CO2 emissions for battery production were very large.

China Electricity Generation Greenhouse Gas Emission Intensity in 2030: Implications for Electric Vehicles.

Electrification of transportation offers clear national energy security benefits but unclear climate benefits. With the current heterogeneity of grid electricity mix in China, greenhouse gas (GHG) benefits of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) vary dramatically with location. Currently, compared to baseline conventional gasoline vehicles, BEVs in north and northeastern Chinese provinces have very modest (∼10-20%) well-to-wheel (WTW) GHG benefits, whereas BEVs in southern provinces have substantial benefits (∼50%). With the expected transition to a more renewable electricity mix documented here, regional effects will largely disappear and the benefits of BEVs will be substantial (∼60-70% lower than current internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) and ∼10-40% lower than 2030 advanced hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs)) across the whole of China by 2030. GHG emissions from BEVs in Chinese cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, and Pearl River Delta) and United States cities and regions (New York; Washington, DC; Chicago; New England; Texas; and California) in 2015 and 2030 are evaluated and compared. BEVs in Chinese cities will still have substantially higher WTW GHG emissions than those in New York, New England, and California in 2030.

Life cycle (well-to-wheel) energy and environmental assessment of natural gas as transportation fuel in Pakistan

Consumers and organizations worldwide are searching for low-carbon alternatives to conventional gasoline and diesel vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and their impact on the environment. Natural gas as an alternative transportation fuel has made significant inroads in the light and heavy duty vehicles market over the last fifteen years. In a sustainable development view, both vehicle emissions and energy supply chain analysis from well-to-wheel must be addressed. The aim of this research is to provide a Well-to-Wheel (WtW) assessment of energy consumptions and GHG emissions for 25 combinations of automotive fuel and matching powertrain systems, with a special focus on the natural gas pathways. Although several well-to-wheel studies available in literature are comprehensive in relation to developed countries’ conditions, it is problematic to apply the results to developing countries fuel markets, since the local fuel conditions and respective vehicle powertrain technologies are considerably different. This study deal with a comparative well-to-wheel analysis of natural gas, diesel and gasoline fuels looking at the Pakistanis situation but the models and approaches for this study can be applied to other countries having similar characteristics, as long as all the assumptions are well defined and modified to find a substitute automotive energy source and establish an energy policy in a specific region. The well-to-tank step was made using the GREET model, developed by the U.S. Argonne National Laboratory while tank-to-wheel analysis was performed using AVL Cruise, a commercially-available backward vehicle simulator. Later both stages were integrated in a well-to-wheel stage where relevant indexes were proposed and discussed. The results indicate that natural gas vehicles are 5–17% and 23–36% less fuel efficient, depending on the engine technology employed as compared to gasoline and diesel powertrain, respectively. Natural gas appears as an environmental efficient pathway regarding GHG emissions, especially compared to gasoline. In addition, using 20-year GWPs instead of 100-year GWPs increases WtW GHG emissions by 19–26% for natural gas pathways.

Modeling the GHG emissions intensity of plug-in electric vehicles using short-term and long-term perspectives

Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) can contribute to deep greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets but their efficacy depends on the sources of electricity. PEV GHG intensity can vary over time (and regionally), making it unclear how policymakers should regulate PEVs in the short and long-term. To explore this uncertainty, we model the short-term (Study 1) and long-term (Study 2) well-to-wheels GHG intensity of PEVs in three regions with very different electricity grid profiles: the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario. Study 1 uses empirical data on vehicle preferences, driving patterns, and recharge access from a representative survey of new vehicle buyers in Canada (n = 1754) to construct a temporally-explicit model of PEV usage in 2015. Fleet-wide emissions intensity of PEVs varies substantially between regions, with the greatest reduction potential relative to conventional gasoline vehicles seen in British Columbia (78–98%), followed by Ontario (58–92%) and Alberta (34–41%). Study 2 simulates the potential long-term dynamics of technology, behavior, and emissions with the CIMS energy-economy model. With the emissions intensity of electricity decreasing by at least one-third by 2050 and vehicle energy efficiency improving over time, simulation results find that, compared to 2015, 2050 fleet average PEV emissions are 40–52% lower in British Columbia, 57–74% lower in Alberta, and 36–46% lower in Ontario. Overall, we find that PEVs offer substantial GHG emissions benefits compared to conventional vehicles in all scenarios explored. Policy makers seeking deep GHG cuts may want to support PEV adoption, even in jurisdictions that presently use relatively carbon-intensive electricity.

Effect of Low Ambient Temperature on Emissions and Electric Range of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles.

Plug-in hybrid electrical vehicles (PHEVs) are generally considered to be a cleaner alternative to conventional passenger cars. However, there is still very limited information available regarding criteria pollutant emissions from these vehicles. This paper shows, for the first time, the emissions of criteria pollutants, unregulated pollutants, and CO2 and also electric range from two very different PHEVs, one Euro 6 parallel plug-in hybrid and one range-extended battery electric vehicle (BEVx), applying the new world harmonized light-duty test procedure at ambient temperatures equal to 23 and −7 °C. The impact of using a cabin air heating system on vehicle electric range and emissions at cold temperature has also been studied. Cold ambient temperatures and, to a larger extent, the use of heating systems have been shown to lead to a pronounced negative impact on emissions and shorter electric ranges. Results also show that modern PHEVs can emit similar, or even higher, levels of pollutants (e.g., particle number) as Euro 6 conventional gasoline and diesel vehicles.

Fuel consumption and emissions performance under real driving: Comparison between hybrid and conventional vehicles

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are perceived to be more energy efficient and less polluting than conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. However, increasing evidence has shown that real-driving emissions (RDE) could be much higher than laboratory type approval limits and the advantages of HEVs over their conventional ICE counterparts under real-driving conditions have not been studied extensively. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the real-driving fuel consumption and pollutant emissions performance of HEVs against their conventional ICE counterparts. Two pairs of hybrid and conventional gasoline vehicles of the same model were tested simultaneously in a novel convoy mode using two portable emission measurement systems (PEMSs), thus eliminating the effect of vehicle configurations, driving behaviour, road conditions and ambient environment on the performance comparison. The results showed that although real-driving fuel consumption for both hybrid and conventional vehicles were 44%–100% and 30%–82% higher than their laboratory results respectively, HEVs saved 23%–49% fuel relative to their conventional ICE counterparts. Pollutant emissions of all the tested vehicles were lower than the regulation limits. However, HEVs showed no reduction in HC emissions and consistently higher CO emissions compared to the conventional ICE vehicles. This could be caused by the frequent stops and restarts of the HEV engines, as well as the lowered exhaust gas temperature and reduced effectiveness of the oxidation catalyst. The findings therefore show that while achieving the fuel reduction target, hybridisation did not bring the expected benefits to urban air quality.

A four-step method for electric-vehicle charging facility deployment in a dense city: An empirical study in Singapore

In the recent decade, electric vehicles (EVs), as a clean and cost-effective transport means, are paving the way to replace conventional gasoline vehicles. To facilitate wider adoption of EVs, corresponding charging infrastructures have to be established first. In this paper, we propose a four-step method to deploy normal and fast charging stations that can satisfy the charging demand of private EVs, 1-shift and 2-shift EV taxis in a mature city. The proposed four-step method provides an easy-to-implement procedure for charging demand estimation and distribution. First, we derive the charging frequency and type of charging facilities for each type of EVs based on their technical specifications and operational characteristics. Then, total demand for normal and fast charging facilities can be generated by using up-to-date transport statistics, and these demand is allocated to various charging sites (car parks or petrol stations) based on spatial distribution of EVs. Given the average daily engaged working hours of a charger, service capacity at each charging station is thus determined. A case study of Singapore is put forward in the end and a scenario analysis is conducted to demonstrate the impact of driving range.

Fuel Cycle Environmental Assessment for Electric Vehicles in China

Electric vehicles (EVs) offer the potential for substantial reductions in energy consumption and emissions during the vehicle traveling stage. In considering these benefits, it is important to address concerns of environmental problem-shifting. In addition, while praise has focused on the use phase in comparing transportation options, the power source production is also significant when comparing conventional and EVs. This study develops and provides a life cycle inventory of EVs and applies the inventory to assess the fuel cycle energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of the EVs and the internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). The results show that EVs powered by the present China electricity mix offer a 48% decrease in energy use and a 38% decrease in global warming potential (GWP) relative to conventional gasoline vehicles.

Future costs of fuel cell electric vehicles in California using a learning rate approach

Many countries and regions of the world are pursuing aggressive decarbonization policies in the transportation sector aiming to sharply reduce the sales of conventional gasoline and diesel-powered internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). Zero emission vehicles (ZEVs), such as battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), have zero tailpipe emissions, but still can be considerably more expensive than ICEVs, which is one key factor hampering their wide-scale adoption. Still, many decarbonization roadmaps and plans call for a large ramp up of ZEVs in coming years. For example, the International Energy Agency's aggressive 2DS high H2 scenario estimates 11 M BEVs and 4 M FCEVs sold in 2030 and California has also set aggressive sales targets under its ZEV Mandate. This paper provides a detailed life cycle cost analysis comparison for FCEV versus other vehicle technologies, assuming these international adoption scenarios are implemented using a learning rate approach. Results show that the fuel cell system is the key factor in making FCEV life cycle costs comparable to ICEV costs. With an 18% learning rate, FCEVs are estimated to be cost competitive with ICEVs by 2025, but with an 8% learning rate, this cost-competitive point is pushed out almost 25 years.

Heterogeneous preferences of green vehicles by vehicle size: Analysis of Seoul case

ABSTRACTAlthough there are several policies for promoting green vehicles, green vehicles have yet to penetrate the market to the extent desired. To attain the goal, a complete understanding of consumers’ preferences of green vehicles is essential. This paper proposes and specifies the fuel-type choice models among conventional gasoline vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and electric vehicles by vehicle size using the stated preferences data collected in Seoul, Korea. The results highlight the need to accommodate the correlation between similar alternatives and the unobserved heterogeneity within the context of choosing a green vehicle. The choice probabilities of green vehicles are affected by the relative impacts of the vehicles’ attributes and socio-demographic variables, and both of these variables are affected by the sizes of the vehicles. For compact size and mid-size vehicles, the effects of operating costs were less than those of purchase prices; however, for the subcompact vehicles, the effects of operating cost were greater than those of purchase price. The parameter of operating costs was not statistically significant in the full-size model. With respect to electric vehicles, the availability of fuel stations would be more important in Seoul than in the U.S. These results can also be useful for policy makers in that they provide information about the impact of green vehicles’ attributes on the choice probabilities of green vehicles.

Measurement of automobile N2O from bag and continuous stream by quantum cascade laser spectroscopy

N2O emission from automobile has been regulated by the United States Environment Protection Agency due to its higher global warming potential compared to CO2. Responding to this, an instrument for fast sensing of ultra-low concentration of N2O from automobile has become an urgent need. In this study, an instrument based on the quantum cascade laser spectroscopy has been developed and applied for certification testing of ultra-low N2O in automobile exhaust. The pulsed quantum cascade laser can emit coherent lights in the mid-infrared region where N2O shows strong absorption and better control of wavelength. Therefore, a very low detection limit can be achieved and interference of co-existing gases can be avoided using a super fine resolution of the mid-infrared spectrum. The US Code of Federal Regulations Parts 1065/1066 allows measuring N2O from sample storage bags, from a continuous dilute stream or a raw exhaust stream. Typically, batch (bag) sampling has better accuracy and repeatability, but continuous sampling is more efficient in terms of test cell running time and provides test-mode emissions. In this study, the quantum cascade laser analyzer has been applied to investigate correlations between bag sampling and continuous dilute exhaust sampling using a fleet of vehicles with a wide range of N2O emission levels all meeting United States Environment Protection Agency emission standards. Very good correlation between these two sampling methods was observed for the majority of tests conducted and in best case the difference was less than ±1%. The direct injection gasoline vehicle emits higher N2O than conventional port injection gasoline vehicles. The quantum cascade laser analyzer has been successfully applied for United States Environment Protection Agency N2O certification test.

Analysis of Typical Automakers\u2019 Strategies for Meeting the Dual-Credit Regulations Regarding CAFC and NEVs

The parallel corporate average fuel consumption (CAFC) and new energy vehicle (NEV) credit schemes that have been introduced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China is an innovative attempt to simultaneously regulate conventional gasoline vehicles (CGVs) and NEVs in the passenger vehicle sector that is expected to function as a long-term management mechanism for CGVs to be more energy-efficient and NEVs to be well-promoted. This will have a significant impact on trends in China’s automotive industry and automakers’ business decisions. Taking the cases of four typical automakers with different levels of average fuel economy in their CGVs and advanced NEV production, scenario analysis has been applied to generate these automakers’ alternatives in relation to compliance with the dual-credit regulations in force from 2017 to 2020 based on the Interim Measures on the Joint Management of CAFC and NEV Credits (Draft). These automakers’ alternative approaches to compliance are compared. Further, in view of the financial losses as a result of halted production if they fail to comply, the values of CAFC and NEV credits and corresponding influencing factors are analyzed from the automakers’ perspective. Finally, the most cost-effective compliance strategies for these automakers are summarized and suggested improvements in the regulations are proposed for the government.

Comparative Well-to-Wheel Emissions Assessment of Internal Combustion Engine and Battery Electric Vehicles

Continuous efforts are made to reduce the lifecycle contribution of the automotive sector in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the main greenhouse gas, focusing mainly on the manufacturing and use phases Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) are widely excepted as the next technology paradigm due to their significantly decreased emissions compared to conventional gasoline or diesel Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles (ICEVs) during their use. In the specific study, a Well-to-Wheel framework has been proposed to compare the contribution of ICEVs and BEVs into air pollution, including the entire process of the energy flow from the extraction of the energy source up to the vehicle being driven. Moreover, owing to the direct link between consumption and emissions, the underestimation of the economy figures delivered during the vehicle’s testing in the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) is considered. The in-use fuel/electricity consumption was assessed based on the corresponding published type-approval values. Finally, simulation tests were conducted to evaluate the computed emission results.