Fueling Infrastructure Research Articles

Incorporating refuelling behaviour and drivers’ preferences in the design of alternative fuels infrastructure in a city

The purpose of this article is to present an optimization model to plan the deployment strategy for hydrogen refuelling stations in a city when Origin–Destination (OD) data are not available. This model considers two objectives: to maximize the traffic covered by the selected hydrogen refuelling stations and minimize the average distance of the city’s inhabitants to the nearest hydrogen refuelling station. As OD data are assumed to be unavailable, the clustering of stations in the highest traffic zones is prevented by a new constraint that takes into account information on the distribution of existing conventional refuelling stations. This model is applied to Seville, a city in Southern Spain of about 140km2 with a population of around 700,000. This application uses the results of a survey of more than 200 Sevillian drivers on their current refuelling tendencies, their willingness to use alternative fuel vehicles and their minimum requirements (regarding maximum distance to be travelled to refuel and number of stations in the city) when establishing a network of alternative refuelling stations.

The Politics of Decarbonisation – A Case Study

Decarbonising our economies is one of the great challenges of our time. The Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive 2014/94/EU aims at mitigating the environmental impact of transport and presents one element to tackle the challenge of transport decarbonisation by focussing on necessary policy measures to further the market for alternative fuels in transport and infrastructure build-up for alternative fuels. In this case study we report on the processes accompanying its national implementation in Austria which needs to cover a variety of national, regional and local-level legislation. We show results of an Austrian-wide public consultation as well as regional workshops. In order to achieve a more ambitious take up of energy efficient vehicles strategic European objectives on cleaner transport need to trickle down to mundane areas such as building codes, permission procedures for infrastructure build-up and parking policy, which in turn requires new tools for effective multi-level governance.

Modelling Electro-mobility: An Integrated Modelling Platform for Assessing European Policies

Recently, the European Union (EU) adopted the Directive on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, which defines minimum requirements on alternative fuels infrastructure build up, including recharging points for electric vehicles. Moreover, the European Commission is currently working towards a Communication on decarbonising the transport sector, including an action plan on second and third generation biofuels and other alternative, sustainable fuels. Various Member States have set up incentives to foster electrified or low-emission vehicle purchases. The Joint Research Centre, as the European Commission's in-house science service, has created a suite of models on electro-mobility, which serves to assess policies towards electrification of road transport and their effects on energy demand, emission reduction and costs. The models are soft-linked and the structure is flexible enough to make sure that the appropriate tools can be used for various studies. The models within this suite include:•A Market Agent model that captures the dynamics between automobile manufacturers, infrastructure providers, authorities and users in order to model competition between and transition of current and future powertrain technologies;•A Fleet Impact tool, containing up-to-date vehicle stock data and energy and emission factors of all vehicle types in the EU, as well as fuel consumption and (real world & type approval) emission calculation, both for Tank-to-Wheel and Well-to-Wheel•An EV-Charging model that estimates the energy-consumption of electric vehicles and calculates their power demand (load) on the basis of usage statistics (e.g., daily distance travelled, parking duration, number of daily trips)•An Energy System Model (JRC-EU-TIMES) that models energy technologies’ uptake and deployment and their interaction with the energy infrastructure from an energy systems perspective•Various others depending on the needs of the assessment to be made.This paper shows key results of studies that were performed with the JRC integrated electro-mobility modelling platform.

Alternative Fuel Infrastructure and Customer Location Impacts on Fleet Mix and Vehicle Routing

An increase in the use of conventional vehicles in combination with alternative fuel vehicles requires trucking carriers to make a decision on when to use a mixed fleet. The purpose of this article is to investigate how alternative fuel infrastructure and patterns of customer locations influence fleet compositions when minimizing routing costs. The variable-route vehicle refueling problem (VRVRP) for the mixed fleet is formulated as a mixed-integer programming model and solved with an optimization method. A logistic regression is then employed to assess the impacts of both the density of the alternative fuel infrastructure and the patterns of customer locations on the optimal fleet composition. Experimental results reveal that the right fleet mix decision is impacted by customer location patterns and available fuel infrastructure. While alternative fuel trucks were favored over conventional trucks with a dense alternative fuel infrastructure, the likelihood of mixed fleet use varied across different patterns of customer demand locations. Further, our analysis suggests that shippers and trucking carriers should understand the relative benefits and constraints of different geographical dispersions of customers and densities of alternative fuel infrastructures when designing optimal delivery strategies.

Alternative Fuel Infrastructure and Customer Location Impacts on Fleet Mix and Vehicle Routing

Abstract An increase in the use of conventional vehicles in combination with alternative fuel vehicles requires trucking carriers to make a decision on when to use a mixed fleet. The purpose of this article is to investigate how alternative fuel infrastructure and patterns of customer locations influence fleet compositions when minimizing routing costs. The variable-route vehicle refueling problem (VRVRP) for the mixed fleet is formulated as a mixed-integer programming model and solved with an optimization method. A logistic regression is then employed to assess the impacts of both the density of the alternative fuel infrastructure and the patterns of customer locations on the optimal fleet composition. Experimental results reveal that the right fleet mix decision is impacted by customer location patterns and available fuel infrastructure. While alternative fuel trucks were favored over conventional trucks with a dense alternative fuel infrastructure, the likelihood of mixed fleet use varied across different patterns of customer demand locations. Further, our analysis suggests that shippers and trucking carriers should understand the relative benefits and constraints of different geographical dispersions of customers and densities of alternative fuel infrastructures when designing optimal delivery strategies.

Systematic Selection and Siting of Vehicle Fueling Infrastructure to Synergistically Meet Future Demands for Alternative Fuels

In order to meet the increasing demand for low carbon and renewable transportation fuels, a methodology for systematically establishing build-out scenarios is desirable. In an effort to minimize initial investment costs associated with the development of fueling infrastructure, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) has been developed and applied, as an illustration, to the case of hydrogen fueling infrastructure deployment in the State of California. In this study, five parameters are selected in order to rank hydrogen transportation fuel generation locations within the State. In order to utilize meaningful weighting factors within the AHP, expert inputs were gathered and employed in the exercising of the models suite of weighting parameters. The analysis uses statewide geographic information and identifies both key energy infrastructure expansion locations and critical criteria that make the largest impact in the location of selected sites.

Bioenergy — when, where and how?

Energy is required for development. A broad variety of energy sources have been discovered and employed during human evolution. Fossil, solar, hydro, wave, wind, geothermal, stream, tides, nuclear biological energy sources provided humanity with 155,505 TWh consumed in 20121. At the same time, energy production and use in the past few centuries has had some impact on the climate, with potential to perhaps alter life on Earth. According to International Energy Agency (IEA): “Energy production and use account for two thirds of the world’s greenhousegas (GHG) emissions... Since the fi rst Conference of the Parties (COP) in 1995, GHG emissions have risen by more than one-quarter and the atmospheric concentration of these gases has increased steadily to 435 parts per million carbon-dioxide equivalent (ppm CO2-eq) in 2012” 2. On the other hand, for the fi rst time in 40 years in 2014, energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) did not change yet the global economy grew by 3% 2. Th e goal for policy markers, scientists and industry is to further develop policies and technologies to reduce the GHG emissions while preserving economic growth. Fossil fuels, not only aff ect climate change but also lead to political insecurity in countries that depend on foreign sources of energy. It is recognized by the governments of most of countries that domestic production of energy is a key factor for political and economic security. Recently, the IEA has proposed a bundle of bridge technologies, i.e. to use energy sources that we already have, to further mitigate the climate impact of our energy systems. Among these is Biomass. Biomass combustion is probably the fi rst energy source humans used. In the 18th and 19th centuries biomass derived biofuels lit streets, warmed houses, and eventually led to the development of the transportation industry3. However, the discovery and commercialization of fossil fuels almost completely displaced biomass from the energy sector for almost a century. Bioenergy, deployed locally, provides an exciting opportunity for energy production in multiple locations in the world. Many concerns about net energy return on investment, intensive land and water use, fertilizers and pesticides use have raised questions with regard to the long-term sustainability of biomass based energy systems. To become sustainable, biomass and bioenergy systems still have a long way to ago in terms of energy effi ciency and good agricultural practices. But these challenges are possible to overcome as new technologies and policies develop. Th e concerns over the biomass sustainability oft en miss the salutary aspect of its local availability. In multiple world locations, up to 60% of food biomass is wasted because of the lack of preservation technologies and markets. In many developing countries, which will drive the energy demand in the coming decades, farmers oft en have land but do not have any access to grid or sophisticated energy generation technologies. Biomass and bioenergy can provide an aff ordable local solution in multiple locations in developing countries that do not have heavy fossil fuels infrastructure. However, the technology challenges to deliver sustainable and effi cient energy from biomass sources still prevent their global use. Th e goal of the Special Issue is to present the current state of the art, cutting edge research and future perspectives on various pathways of biomass use for bioenergy production. Th e issue incorporates papers from the research laboratories, national research centers and companies that contribute daily to the fi eld of bioenergy, by off ering solution to reduce the technological, economical and sustainability barriers of the use of this local energy source. Th e advances presented here and in many other forthcoming work will enable the smooth and effi cient transition to the fossil fuels emission free economy called for by G7 leaders.

Low-cost, transportable hydrogen fueling station for early market adoption of fuel cell electric vehicles

Thousands of public hydrogen fueling stations are needed to support the early Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) market in the U.S.; as of July 2014 there were 12. Government agencies are the largest investors in the U.S. hydrogen fueling infrastructure and are developing stations that cost anywhere from $1.8–$5.9 million each. To attract private investors and decrease dependence on government funding, a low-cost, mobile hydrogen dispensing system must be developed. This paper describes a transportable 700 bar hydrogen fueling station that has been designed with an off-the-shelf component cost of $423,000; less than 23% of the capital cost of current stations. The design utilizes liquid hydrogen storage and a novel cryogenic compression system which can be factory built for high volume, rapid production. These stations are contained in a standard 40 foot ISO shipping container to adapt to varying locational demand. The demand adjusted cost to sell hydrogen is estimated to be $9.62/kg. This paper presents the mechanical design and operation of the fueling station. This design won the grand prize for the 2014 Hydrogen Student Design competition and a complete report including an economic analysis and safety features is available elsewhere.

Flexible-Fuel Vehicle Adoption and the U.S. Biofuel Market

The wider adoption of flexible-fuel vehicles (FFVs) could play a critical role in expanding biofuel consumption and achieving policy goals established by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The E85 development is constrained by limited fueling infrastructure, higher-than-parity pricing and low consumer awareness. This study empirically evaluates the importance of E85 fueling stations in FFV adoption, its impacts on the U.S. biofuel market, and the E85 market potential. Based on quarterly vehicle sales and E85 fueling station data from 2010 to 2012 in 362 Metropolitan Statistical Areas, our analysis shows that FFV adoption is affected by the availability of E85 stations, relative fuel prices, and the tax credit for FFVs. The doubling of E85 stations in 2012 would have increased the market share of FFVs from 20% to 33%. Various scenarios of barrier removal are simulated in a partial market equilibrium model of the U.S. biofuel market. The better availability of E85 fuel stations can significantly increase biofuel consumption and there is large market potential for high ethanol-blend gasoline.

Hydrogen Fueling Standardization- Enabling FCEVs with Fast Fueling and Consistent Vehicle Range Equal to Today

Hydrogen Fueling Standardization: Enabling ZEVs with "Same as Today" Fueling and FCEV Range Zero Emission vehicles are essential to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector. Wide scale adoption of electric vehicles has been challenging due to the limited range and long charging times. Fueling with hydrogen offers the possibility to fuel Fuel Cell Electric vehicles in a few minutes and allow them to achieve a consistent high SOC, enabling 300+ mile range. Hydrogen Vehicles are slated to first enter into a small-scale commercial phase in three markets (Germany, California, and Japan) with the advent of multiple OEMs 2015-2017. SAE created a fueling protocol to standardize this fueling worldwide base on modeling, lab and real-world data. The objective of the SAE J2601 hydrogen fueling protocol is to fuel all FCEV vehicles within a reasonable timeframe, with a high fueling density, without exceeding the hydrogen safety storage limits. SAE J2601 creates a "Customer Acceptable" hydrogen fueling, with rapid hydrogen Fueling (<5 minutes) at 70MPa and 35MPa utilizing pre-cooling of hydrogen to offset the heat of compression. SAE J2799 Communications fueling is also possible enabling close to 100% rated density or state of charge (SOC). After 13 years of development, the J2601 and J2799 standards, published in 2014 will enable the first generation of commercial fuel cell vehicle and hydrogen fueling infrastructure which enables the "same as today" fueling experience and vehicle range.

Toyota MIRAI Fuel Cell Vehicle and Progress Toward a Future Hydrogen Society

This article presents a high-level overview of the various technological advances that were performed to enable the commercialization of the Toyota MIRAI fuel cell vehicle. The article describes the innovations made in flow-field structure, catalyst layer structure and composition, various stack components, the hydrogen storage tank, and in streamlining the humidification process. Finally, the article highlights the importance of leveraging mass manufactured parts from prior generations/platforms to the maximum extent possible to achieve the requisite cost reductions and concludes with some thoughts on the future of fuel cell vehicles, and the necessity for a concerted effort to develop a hydrogen fueling infrastructure.

Barriers of scaling-up fuel cells: Cost, durability and reliability

Since its creation over 170 years ago, and despite major investments and efforts by stakeholders over the last few decades to move this technology to the mainstream, today fuel cells continue to be regarded as a fledgling industry. In spite of the commitment by industry leaders, analysis shows that their actions do not address the critical questions facing this technology: Why has scaling-up of fuel cells failed so often when many researchers have stated their successes in the small scale? Why do fuel cell stacks have lower durability, reliability and robustness than their individual cells? Could investments of a hydrogen fueling infrastructure stimulate advancements in the key issues of durability, reliability and robustness and substantially reduce fuel cell costs? In this paper, we will analyze and confront these fundamental questions to improve understanding of the challenges of scaling-up technologies and identify key barriers. Then we will examine options and suggest a procedure for change to substantially improve the durability and reliability of fuel cells and reduce their costs.

Potential impact of transition to a low-carbon transport system in Iceland

This paper develops a system dynamics model of Iceland׳s energy sector (UniSyD_IS) that is based on the UniSyD_NZ model of New Zealand׳s energy economy. The model focuses on the energy supply sector with endogenous representation of road transport energy demand. Equilibrium interactions are performed across electricity, hydrogen, biofuels, and road transport sectors. Possible transition paths toward a low-carbon transport in Iceland are explored with implications for fuel demand, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and associated costs. The consumer sector simulates the long-term evolution of light and heavy-duty vehicles through a vehicle choice algorithm that accounts for social influences and consumer preferences. Through different scenarios, the influences of four fundamental driving factors are examined. The factors are oil price, carbon tax, fuel supply-push, and government incentives. The results show that changes in travel demand, vehicle technologies, fuel types, and efficiency improvements can support feasible transition paths to achieve sufficient reduction in GHG for both 4°C and 2°C climate scenarios of the Nordic Energy Technology Perspectives study. Initial investment in supply infrastructure for alternative fuels will not only mitigate GHG emissions, but also could provide long-term economic benefits through fuel cost saving for consumers and reduced fuel import costs for government.

Final Results from U.S. FCEV Learning Demonstration

The “Controlled Hydrogen Fleet and Infrastructure Demonstration and Validation Project,” also known as the National Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Learning Demonstration, is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) project started in 2004 and concluded in late 2011. The purpose of this project was to conduct an integrated field validation that simultaneously examined the performance of fuel cell vehicles and the supporting hydrogen fueling infrastructure. The DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) received and analyzed all of the raw technical data collected by the industry partners through their participation in the project over its seven-year duration. This paper reviews highlights from the project and draws conclusions about the demonstrated status of the fuel cell vehicle and hydrogen fueling infrastructure technology. Through September 2011, 183 fuel cell electric vehicles were deployed, 25 project fueling stations were placed in use, and no fundamental safety issues were identified. We have analyzed data from more than 500,000 individual vehicle trips covering 3.5 million miles traveled and more than 150,000 kg hydrogen produced or dispensed. Public analytical results from this project are in the form of composite data products (CDPs), which aggregate individual performance to protect the intellectual property and the identity of each company while still publishing overall status and progress. Ninety-nine of these CDPs have been generated for public use and posted on NREL’s technology validation website. The results indicate that fuel cell vehicle technology continues to make rapid progress toward commercial readiness and that the fueling infrastructure technology is ready to provide a consumer-friendly fast fill and long range experience consistent with expectations of gasoline vehicle customers.

Addressing the terawatt challenge: scalability in the supply of chemical elements for renewable energy

The energy infrastructure for fossil fuels is well-established, accounting for approximately 87% of the 16 TW of power consumed globally. For renewable and sustainable energy conversion technologies to play a relevant role at the terrestrial scale, they must be able to scale to the TW level of deployment. This would place a significant demand on the current and future supply of raw materials (chemical elements) used by those technologies. Oftentimes, the average crustal abundance of a chemical element is cited as a measure of its scalability, however another important metric for scalability is the existence (of lack thereof) of mineable ores with a high concentration of the targeted element. This paper aims to provide an overview of the availability of all elements. This is accomplished via a compilation of data for global primary production rates for each element, as a measure of availability at the present time. This work also addresses the potential future availability based on current and possible future primary sources.

Using AHP and binary integer programming to optimize the initial distribution of hydrogen infrastructures in Andalusia

The use of vehicles powered by hydrogen from renewable sources can be a viable alternative for Andalusia, given its accessibility to renewable energies and the problems of energy dependence and pollution resulting from the current energy model. However, the introduction of this type of technology requires an initial infrastructure that solves the classical chicken and egg problem. Given that hydrogen fueling infrastructure will require significant initial capital investment, it is reasonable to assume that a possible strategy of introduction could be the establishment of a station network that is sparse to avoid redundancy and therefore minimize costs. In this paper, we utilize Analytic Hierarchy Process to rank, on the basis of several supply, demand and environmental criteria, the more than 750 municipalities of Andalusia according to their suitability for the establishment of hydrogen fueling stations. Subsequently, we incorporate these results into an optimization problem to achieve optimal planning of the number and location of hydrogen fueling stations to provide coverage for the region.

Projecting full build-out environmental impacts and roll-out strategies associated with viable hydrogen fueling infrastructure strategies

A transition from gasoline internal combustion engine vehicles to hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) is likely to emerge as a major component of the strategy to meet future greenhouse gas reduction, air quality, fuel independence, and energy security goals. Advanced infrastructure planning can minimize the cost of hydrogen infrastructure while assuring that energy and environment benefits are achieved. This study presents a comprehensive advanced planning methodology for the deployment of hydrogen infrastructure, and applies the methodology to delineate fully built-out infrastructure strategies, assess the associated energy and environment impacts, facilitate the identification of an optimal infrastructure roll-out strategy, and identify the potential for renewable hydrogen feedstocks. The South Coast Air Basin of California, targeted by automobile manufacturers for the first regional commercial deployment of FCEVs, is the focus for the study. The following insights result from the application of the methodology:•Compared to current gasoline stations, only 11%–14% of the number of hydrogen fueling stations can provide comparable accessibility to drivers in a targeted region.•To meet reasonable capacity demand for hydrogen fueling, approximately 30% the number of hydrogen stations are required compared to current gasoline stations.•Replacing gasoline vehicles with hydrogen FCEVs has the potential to (1) reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by more than 80%, reduce energy requirements by 42%, and virtually eliminate petroleum consumption from the passenger vehicle sector, and (2) significantly reduce urban concentrations of ozone and PM2.5.•Existing sources of biomethane in the California South Coast Air Basin can provide up to 30% of the hydrogen fueling demand for a fully built-out hydrogen FCEV scenario.•A step-wise transition of judiciously located existing gasoline stations to dispense and accommodate the increasing demand for hydrogen addresses proactively key infrastructure deployment challenges including a viable business model, zoning, permitting, and public acceptance.

Aviation Fueling: A Cleaner, Greener Approach

Projected growth of aviation depends on fueling where specific needs must be met. Safety is paramount, and along with political, social, environmental, and legacy transport systems requirements, alternate aviation fueling becomes an opportunity of enormous proportions. Biofuels—sourced from halophytes, algae, cyanobacteria, and “weeds” using wastelands, waste water, and seawater—have the capacity to be drop-in fuel replacements for petroleum fuels. Biojet fuels from such sources solve the aviation CO2emissions issue and do not compete with food or freshwater needs. They are not detrimental to the social or environmental fabric and use the existing fuels infrastructure. Cost and sustainable supply remain the major impediments to alternate fuels. Halophytes are the near-term solution to biomass/biofuels capacity at reasonable costs; they simply involve more farming, at usual farming costs. Biofuels represent a win-win approach, proffering as they do—at least the ones we are studying—massive capacity, climate neutral-to-some sequestration, and ultimately, reasonable costs.

Systematic planning to optimize investments in hydrogen infrastructure deployment

The introduction of hydrogen infrastructure and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) to gradually replace gasoline internal combustion engine vehicles can provide environment and energy security benefits. The deployment of hydrogen fueling infrastructure to support the demonstration and commercialization of FCVs remains a critical barrier to transitioning to hydrogen as a transportation fuel. This study utilizes an engineering methodology referred to as the Spatially and Temporally Resolved Energy and Environment Tool (STREET) to demonstrate how systematic planning can optimize early investments in hydrogen infrastructure in a way that supports and encourages growth in the deployment of FCVs while ensuring that the associated environment and energy security benefits are fully realized. Specifically, a case study is performed for the City of Irvine, California – a target area for FCV deployment – to determine the optimized number and location of hydrogen fueling stations required to provide a bridge to FCV commercialization, the preferred rollout strategy for those stations, and the environmental impact associated with three near-term scenarios for hydrogen production and distribution associated with local and regional sources of hydrogen available to the City. Furthermore, because the State of California has adopted legislation imposing environmental standards for hydrogen production, results of the environmental impact assessment for hydrogen production and distribution scenarios are measured against the California standards. The results show that significantly fewer hydrogen fueling stations are required to provide comparable service to the existing gasoline infrastructure, and that key community statistics are needed to inform the preferred rollout strategy for the stations. Well-to-wheel (WTW) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, urban criteria pollutants, energy use, and water use associated with hydrogen and FCVs can be significantly reduced in comparison to the average parc of gasoline vehicles regardless of whether hydrogen is produced and distributed with an emphasis on conventional resources (e.g., natural gas), or on local, renewable resources. An emphasis on local renewable resources to produce hydrogen further reduces emissions, energy use, and water use associated with hydrogen and FCVs compared to an emphasis on conventional resources. All three hydrogen production and distribution scenarios considered in the study meet California's standards for well-to-wheel GHG emissions, and well-to-tank emissions of urban ROG and NO X. Two of the three scenarios also meet California's standard that 33% of hydrogen must be produced from renewable feedstocks. Overall, systematic planning optimizes both the economic and environmental impact associated with the deployment of hydrogen infrastructure and FCVs.

Impact of Service Station Networks on Purchase Decisions of Alternative-Fuel Vehicles

In this paper we analyze the impact of service station availability on the demand for alternative-fuel vehicles and the consumers’ willingness to pay for an enlarged fueling infrastructure. We examine a stated preferences choice experiment conducted as a CAPI survey with about 600 interviews of potential car buyers in Germany and estimate the coefficients of a discrete choice model. We simulate different scenarios and analyze how individual choice probabilities for alternative fuel-types are changing with a modified fueling infrastructure. In our scenarios hybrids, LPG/CNG and hydrogen will be real alternatives to the existing conventional technologies. However, biofuels and electric power trains are well behind even in a situation where their infrastructure is equally developed. Moreover, on the basis of our model we compute what increases in fixed or variable costs consumers of different income groups are willing to accept for an increasing station density.