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Technoecological analysis of energy carriers for long‐haul transportation
Author(s) -
Wolff Sebastian,
Fries Michael,
Lienkamp Markus
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of industrial ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.377
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1530-9290
pISSN - 1088-1980
DOI - 10.1111/jiec.12937
Subject(s) - upstream (networking) , investment (military) , environmental economics , environmental science , diesel fuel , battery (electricity) , combustion , battery electric vehicle , computer science , automotive engineering , economics , engineering , power (physics) , telecommunications , chemistry , physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , politics , political science , law
Long‐haul transportation demand is predicted to increase in the future, resulting in higher carbon dioxide emissions. Different drivetrain technologies, such as hybrid or battery electric vehicles, electrified roads, liquefied natural gas and hydrogen, might offer solutions to this problem. To assess their ecological and economic impact, these concepts were simulated including a weight and cost model to estimate the total cost of ownership. An evolutionary algorithm optimizes each vehicle to find a concept specific optimal solution. A model calculates the minimum investment in infrastructure required to meet the energy demand for each concept. A well‐to‐wheel analysis takes into account upstream and on‐road carbon dioxide emissions, to compare fully electric vehicles with conventional combustion engines. Investment in new infrastructure is the biggest drawback of electrified road concepts, although they offer low CO 2 emissions. The diesel hybrid is the best compromise between carbon reduction and costs.