Alternate Fuel Vehicles

Lifetime Cost of Battery, Fuel-Cell, and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Mark Delucchi
Tim Lipman
2010
This chapter reviews the estimates of the full social lifetime cost of a battery electric vehicle (BEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), and a fuel-cell hybrid electric vehicle (FCEV), which consists of the initial and periodic costs of owning and operating a vehicle, including some nonmarket costs that are incurred by the society as a whole. When compared with a conventional gasoline internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV), advanced BEVs, PHEVs, and FCEVs have higher initial costs, lower fuel costs, lower external costs, possibly higher insurance costs, and possibly lower...

Vehicle Technologies for Achieving Near and Longer Term Fuel Economy and Climate Goals

Tim Lipman
2020
Motor vehicles are a key element of transport systems worldwide, providing vitally important access to goods and services. However, motor vehicles powered by internal combustion engines directly emit harmful pollutants and climate-changing gases. New fuels and new automotive technologies offer the potential to simultaneously make motor vehicles much cleaner and more efficient by reducing tailpipe emissions and allowing the focus to be on the “upstream” emissions from fuels production. This can be accomplished through an increasing array of hybrid electric and pure electric...

Plug-in-Hybrid Vehicle Use, Energy Consumption, and Greenhouse Emissions: An Analysis of Household Vehicle Placements in Northern California

Brett Williams
Elliot Martin
Tim Lipman
Daniel Kammen
2011
We report on the real-world use over the course of one year of a nickel-metal-hydride plug-in hybrid—the Toyota Plug-In HV—by a set of 12 northern California households able to charge at home and work. From vehicle use data, energy and greenhouse-emissions implications are also explored. A total of 1557 trips—most using under 0.5 gallons of gasoline—ranged up to 2.4 hours and 133 miles and averaged 14 minutes and 7 miles. 399 charging events averaged 2.6 hours. The maximum lasted 4.6 hours. Most recharges added less than 1.4 kWh, with a mean charge of 0.92 kWh. The average power drawn was...

Modeling the Future California Electricity Grid and Renewable Energy Integration with Electric Vehicles

Florian Triel
Tim Lipman
2020

This study focuses on determining the impacts and potential value of unmanaged and managed uni-directional and bi-directional charging of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) to integrate intermittent renewable resources in California in the year 2030. The research methodology incorporates the utilization of multiple simulation tools including V2G-SIM, SWITCH, and GridSim. SWITCH is used to predict a cost-effective generation portfolio to meet the renewable electricity goals of 60% in California by 2030. PEV charging demand is predicted by incorporating mobility behavior studies and...

Analysis of Potential Fuel Consumption and Emissions Reductions from Fuel Cell Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) in Long-Haul Trucks

Nicholas Lutsey
Christie-Joy Brodrick
Tim Lipman
2007

The idling of heavy-duty trucks results in additional emissions, fuel consumption, and cost. Small fuel cell auxiliary power units (APUs) (now in development) are promising alternatives to idling the main engine. A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) APU is particularly attractive, because in conjunction with a reformer, it could operate on widely available diesel fuel. Because fuel cell APUs may not only reduce environmental impacts, but also reduce operating costs, this application has been cited as an attractive early market niche for fuel cells. Our objective is to determine whether SOFC APUs...

Grand Challenges for Life-Cycle Assessment of Biofuels

William Nazaroff
Thomas McKone
Peter Berck
Maximilian Auffhammer
Tim Lipman
Margaret Torn
Eric Masanet
Agnes Lobscheid
Nicholas Santero
Umesh Mishra
Anthony Barrett
Matthew Bomberg
Kevin Fingerman
Corinne Scown
Bret Strogen
Arpad Horvath
2011

Biofuels are widely touted as viable, albeit not straightforward, alternatives to petroleum-derived fuels. To best determine their utilization, many practitioners turn to life-cycle assessment (LCA) to ascertain the “environmental footprint”. Although parameters such as resource and land use, along with infrastructure, can be incorporated into LCA algorithms, many have noted that the methodological approach still needs careful attention. In this Feature, McKone et al. outline seven grand challenges that need to be engaged and surmounted to provide the best way forward for biofuel use.

Final Report: Assessment of Combined Heat and Power Premium Power Applications in California

Zack Norwood
Tim Lipman
Chris Marnay
Dan Kammen
2008

This “Assessment of Combined Heat and Power Premium Power Applications in California analyzes the current economic and environmental performance of combined heat and power (CHP) systems in power interruption intolerant commercial facilities. Through a series of three case studies, key trade-offs are analyzed with regard to the provision of black-out ridethrough capability with the CHP systems and the resutling ability to avoid the need for at least some diesel backup generator capacity located at the case study sites. Each of the selected sites currently have a CHP or combined heating,...

Hydrogen Infrastructure for Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles: Technical Status, International Developments, and the Looming Hydrogen Fuel Supply Gap

Tim Lipman
Maggie Witt
2014

Several major automakers are preparing to produce and sell hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in the 2015-2017 timeframe. These sales are projected for international markets, led by the United States, Europe, Japan, and other parts of Asia, and are arranged around various “joint development” consortia. Unlike other types of hybrid and full electric vehicles that rely upon widely available gasoline and electricity infrastructure to refuel, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles require a novel hydrogen fuel-dispensing infrastructure. Much progress has been made in developing codes and standards for...

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Performance and User-Response Assessment: Results of an Extended Driver Study

Tim Lipman
Matthew Elke
2018

This study examined driver acceptance and performance of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles as tested in real-world conditions over a two-year period. The study sample was a volunteer group of “n = 54” drivers who drove the vehicle for a month-long trial period. Each driver took ‘before’ and ‘after’ surveys regarding their driving experience. Drivers drove an average of 1400 miles per month, and either witnessed and/or performed vehicle refueling 3–10 times during their test period. Key findings from the study include that: 1) 80% of study participant drivers found that the fuel cell...

Expected Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions by Battery, Fuel Cell, and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Tim Lipman
Mark Delucchi
2010

This chapter presents background on greenhouse gas emission (GHG) formation from motor vehicles and then estimates of GHG emissions from various types of electric vehicles (EVs) such as battery, fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles from studies conducted by research groups at universities, national labs, government agencies, and other groups are reviewed. EVs can even have very low to zero emissions of GHGs when they run on renewable fuels; however, at present, EVs are more expensive than other options that offer significant reductions at lower costs as electricity is largely...