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Road freight transport is dominated by gasoline- and diesel- fueled internal combustion engine vehicles, presenting a challenge for decarbonization. There is a growing interest in electric-drive vehicles as alternative to reduce CO 2 and local pollutant emissions in road freight transport. In this research, a vehicle stock turnover model is used to estimate the potential of electric-drive vehicles to reduce energy consumption and CO 2 emissions in a road freight vehicle fleet; focusing on Japan as a case of study. In the Base scenario, tank to wheel CO 2 emissions are reduced 51.9% between 2012 and 2050 driven by vehicle stock reduction, hybrid electric vehicle diffusion and vehicle fuel consumption improvement. By 2050, tank to wheel CO 2 emissions can be reduced up to 55.8% with the diffusion of battery electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles. Despite of aggressive electric-drive vehicle deployment, fossil fuels account for more than 52% of the energy consumed in all scenarios in 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internal combustion engine vehicles dominated road transport during the twentieth century. Nevertheless, the panorama is likely to change in the future, with electric-drive vehicle sales increasing due to technology improvement, cost reduction, infrastructure development and increasing environmental awareness. A new vehicle market model and a vehicle stock turnover model were combined to estimate the optimum composition of the 2050 new vehicle market in Japan under different scenarios; and the impact of changes in the new vehicle market composition on the light-duty vehicle fleet. The Base scenario is dominated by internal combustion engine vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles. Fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles dominate when low cost is prioritized; while shift to battery electric vehicles occurs when low CO 2 emissions are prioritized. CO 2 emissions are reduced 56.9% between 2012 and 2050 in the Base scenario. Diffusion of lightweight mini-sized battery electric vehicles has the largest CO 2 emissions reductions, 87.3% compared with the 2050 baseline value; with negative cash flow after 2044. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents further results of the study on fundamental combustion characteristics of gaseous fuels simulated for a biogas produced through a biomass gasification process with a catalyzer. The main work focuses on combustion characteristics of H2–CO blended fuel and the effect of CO2 dilution on it in a spark-ignition engine under the condition of WOT, MBT and a constant speed of 1500 rpm. Equivalence ratio were limited to lower than 0.8 in order to avoid excessive high combustion temperature to damage the engine, and lean conditions were maintained during the experiment to get acceptable economy and emissions. The results show that the BMEP decreases with an increase in dilution rate. The COV of IMEP is lower than 10% under most conditions, while H2 and CO2 have the opposite influence on brake thermal efficiency. CO2 dilution combustion could induce to remarkable decreasing in NO x emission with little decrease in brake thermal efficiency, which benefits for biomass gaseous fuel application. If 500 ppm of NO x emission and 26% of brake thermal efficiency could be viewed as accepted level, the accepted operation range of H2–CO mixture have been obtained. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Diffusion of battery electric vehicles and fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles can contribute to reduce passenger light-duty vehicle fleet CO 2 emissions. However, barriers such as higher vehicle capital cost and lack of electricity and hydrogen infrastructure prevent their deployment. A vehicle stock turnover model was used to assess the impact of mini-sized and zero-emission vehicle diffusion on passenger light-duty vehicle fleet energy and material consumption, CO 2 emissions and cost, focusing on Japan. 2050 passenger light-duty vehicle fleet energy consumption and tank-to-wheel CO 2 emissions in the base scenario are 48.7 and 51.9% lower than the 2012 values. Diffusion of mini-sized and battery electric vehicles provides the largest energy consumption and CO 2 emissions reductions, 64.7, and 87.8% compared with the 2050 baseline values. Incremental cost of zero emission vehicles is reduced through downsizing. The 2050 net cash flow for battery electric vehicles diffusion is reduced from 15.9 to −16.7 billion USD/year if downsizing is applied; while in the case of fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle diffusion, downsizing reduces the 2050 net cash flow from −12.5 to −47.8 billion USD/year. Thus, shifting to mini-sized zero emission vehicles provides the quadruple benefit of reducing energy and material consumption, CO 2 emissions and cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric-drive vehicles, including hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles, fuel cell electric vehicles and fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles, are emerging as less polluting alternatives to internal combustion engine vehicles. Therefore, it is important to assess their penetration in the vehicle market in the future. A ‘two-step’ approach is used to estimate the optimum market penetration of lightweight and electric-drive vehicles in the long-term and the impact on the light-duty vehicle fleet, focusing on Japan. First, an optimization model is used to estimate the vehicle market composition in 2050. Then, a vehicle stock turnover model is used to estimate light-duty vehicle fleet energy and material consumption, CO 2 emissions and cost. Internal combustion engine vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles dominate in the Base scenario. Fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles dominate when low cost is prioritized. Shift to battery electric vehicles occurs when low CO 2 emissions are prioritized. CO 2 emissions are reduced 56.9% between 2012 and 2050 in the Base scenario. Lightweight mini-sized battery electric vehicle diffusion has the largest CO 2 emissions reductions, 87.3% compared to the 2050 baseline value; with the net cash flow peaking at 10.2 billion USD/year in 2035 and becoming negative after 2044. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric-drive and lightweight vehicles can reduce CO 2 emissions in road passenger transportation. However, maximum reductions are limited by the extent of their diffusion. A vehicle fleet stock turnover model was developed to study the impact of powertrain electrification, vehicle size reduction and lightweight materials substitution on light-duty vehicle fleet energy consumption, CO 2 emissions and cost; and used in the case of Japan. Vehicle types included internal combustion engine vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles, and fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles; using two glider types, conventional and lightweight; available in three vehicle size classes, normal, compact and mini-sized vehicles. Diffusion of mini-sized lightweight battery electric vehicles has the largest potential for tank-to-wheel energy consumption and CO 2 emissions reductions, 70.6 and 92.2%, compared to the 2050 baseline values; with a net cash flow larger than zero until 2045. In contrast, diffusion of mini-sized lightweight fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles has the lowest net cash flow by 2050, with negative values from 2033 and potential tank-to-wheel energy consumption and CO 2 emissions reductions of 55.4 and 82.9% compared to the 2050 baseline values. Lightweighting reduces significantly the capital cost of battery electric vehicles and fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles, favoring their deployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]