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Hybrid Electric Systems: Goals, Strategies, and Top Accomplishments
6/1/2010
The Vehicle Technologies Program at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, is focused on enabling large-scale production of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles that are cost-competitive with conventional vehicles. They endeavor to reduce the cost of electrochemical energy storage and low cost advanced power electronics and electric motor components by developing simulation tools and modeling capabilities.
Plug-in Electric Vehicle Infrastructure: A Foundation for Electrified Transportation
4/8/2010
new opportunity for reducing oil consumption by drawing power from the electric grid. To maximize the benefits of PEVs, the emerging PEV infrastructure?from battery manufacturing to communication and control between the vehicle and the grid?must provide access to clean electricity, satisfy stakeholder expectations, and ensure safety. Currently, codes and standards organizations are collaborating on a PEV infrastructure plan. Establishing a PEV infrastructure framework will create new opportunities for business and job development initiating the move toward electrified transportation. This paper summarizes the components of the PEV infrastructure, challenges and opportunities related to the design and deployment of the infrastructure, and the potential benefits.
Authors: Markel, T.
Technologies and Approaches to Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles
3/1/2010
Technologies and Approaches to Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles evaluates various technologies and methods that could improve the fuel economy of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, such as tractor-trailers, transit buses, and work trucks. The book also recommends approaches that federal agencies could use to regulate these vehicles' fuel consumption. Currently there are no fuel consumption standards for such vehicles, which account for about 26 percent of the transportation fuel used in the U.S.
The book estimates the improvements that various technologies could achieve over the next decade in seven vehicle types. For example, using advanced diesel engines in tractor-trailers could lower their fuel consumption by up to 20 percent by 2020, and improved aerodynamics could yield an 11 percent reduction. Hybrid powertrains could lower the fuel consumption of vehicles that stop frequently, such as garbage trucks and transit buses, by as much 35 percent in the same time frame.
Technology Improvement Pathways to Cost-Effective Vehicle Electrification
2/1/2010
This paper evaluates several approaches aimed at making plug-in electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) cost-effective including opportunity charging, replacing the battery over the vehicle life, improving battery life, reducing battery cost, and providing electric power directly to the vehicle during a portion of its travel. Many combinations of PHEV electric range and battery power are included. For each case, the model accounts for battery cycle life and the national distribution of driving distances to size the battery optimally. Using the current estimates of battery life and cost, only the dynamically plugged-in pathway was cost-effective to the consumer. Significant improvements in battery life and battery cost also made PHEVs more cost-effective than today's hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and conventional internal combustion engine vehicles (CVs).
Authors: Brooker, A.; Thornton, M.; Rugh, J.
United Parcel Service (UPS) Evaluates Hybrid Electric Delivery Vans
2/1/2010
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory?s (NREL) FleetTest and Evaluation team evaluated the 12-month, in-serviceperformance of six Class 4 hybrid electric delivery vans?fueledby regular diesel?and six comparable conventional diesel vansoperated by the United Parcel Service (UPS). All the hybrid vans testedwere equipped with the same parallel hybrid system manufacturedby Eaton Corp., including a synchronous brushless, permanentmagnet motor (26-kW continuous power, 44-kW peak power)and lithium-ion batteries that provide 340 VDC and 1.8 kWh ofenergy storage. UPS is satisfied with its 50 prototype hybrid vansand ordered 200 more in 2009.
Biomass Energy Data Book, Edition 2
12/1/2009
The Biomass Energy Data Book is a statistical compendium prepared and published by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The book represents an assembly and display of statistics and information that characterize the biomass industry, from the production of biomass feedstocks to their end use. This first edition is currently only available online in electronic format. The first section is an introduction, which provides an overview of biomass resources and consumption. Section 2 covers ethanol, biodiesel, BioOil. Section 3 covers use of biomass for electrical power generation and heating. Section 4 covers the developing area of biorefineries. Section 5 discusses feedstocks that are produced and used in the biomass industry. The sources used represent the latest available data. Three appendices include measures of conversions, biomass characteristics, and assumptions for selected tables and figures.
Authors: Wright, L.; Boundy, B.; Perlack, B.; Davis, S.; Saulsbury, B.
Notes: This 2nd edition of the Biomass Energy Data Book is currently available online in electronic format.
An Action Plan for Cars: The Policies Needed to Reduce U.S. Petroleum Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
12/1/2009
Reducing petroleum consumption and GHG emissions from cars and light?]duty trucks in the United States over the next several decades requires that we implement a clear and coordinated set of policies now. This report describes a portfolio of policies which, in the view of the authors, is needed to put personal vehicle transportation on the road to sustainability in the longer term. To incentivize adoption of more fuel efficient vehicles, we propose coupling existing near?]term fuel economy standards with a feebate incentive program and gradual increases in fuel taxes. We further propose driver education initiatives that would give vehicle owners information on how to maximize fuel savings in their purchase and driving decisions. Finally, we underscore the need for a long?]term strategy for fuels that evaluates fuels?]related programs based on their contribution to reducing life?]cycle petroleum consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Together, these policies offer a robust plan of action that will focus and streamline current efforts to achieve these two important national goals. Perhaps most importantly, this plan lays a much?]needed foundation for a comprehensive, adaptable long?]term policy effort. A more detailed summary of the recommended set of policy measures can be found in Section 2.
Authors: Heywood, J.; Baptista, P.; Berry, I.; Bhatt, K.; Cheah, L.; De Sisternes, F.; Karplus, V.; Keith, D.; Khusid, M.; MacKenzie, D.; McAulay, J.
Twelve-Month Evaluation of UPS Diesel Hybrid Electric Delivery Vans
12/1/2009
This report focuses on a parallel hybrid-electric diesel delivery van propulsion system currently being operated by United Parcel Service (UPS). The propulsion system is an alternative to the standard diesel system and could enable reductions in emissions, primarily particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen (NOx), as well as reductions in petroleum use. Hybrid propulsion allows for increased fuel economy, which ultimately reduces petroleum use.
Authors: Lammert, M.
Clean Cities Annual Metrics Report 2008
9/1/2009
Each year, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) asks Clean Cities coordinators to submit an annual report of their activities and accomplishments for the previous calendar year. Approximately 412 million gallons of gasoline were displaced through the Clean Cities efforts in 2008?14% more than in 2007. This displacement represents the combined results of the activities reported by coalitions (as analyzed by NREL) and the impacts of the Fuel Economy Guide and related activities (as estimated by ORNL). Three major changes were made to the Clean Cities survey this year: E10 is no longer counted toward petroleum displacement goals, coordinators no longer relied on a default assumption for the percent of time flex-fueled vehicles used alternative fuel, and B20 was moved from the AFV to the blends category. The first of these changes substantially reduced the reported petroleum displacement by blends from what they otherwise would have been in 2008. AFVs still accounted for the largest share (48%) of the total 412-million-gallon displacement. Fuel economy impacts (combined impacts of coalition and ORNL activity) were responsible for displacing 129 million gallons. The use of biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel) as fuels for AFVs and in low-level biodiesel blends displaced 100 million gallons, or 24% of the total, and idle reduction and HEV technologies combined to displace 20 million gallons. 2008 was the first year that greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions were estimated for Clean Cities activities. The program kept a total of 2.7 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) from being emitted to the atmosphere?the equivalent of removing over 507,000 passenger cars from U.S. roads.
Authors: Bergeron, P.; Johnson, C.
Field Testing Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles with Charge Control Technology in the Xcel Energy Territory
8/1/2009
This report outlines the results of a joint study by Xcel Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to understand the fuel displacement potential, costs, and emissions impacts of the market introduction of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The goal of the current effort was to evaluate, under real-world conditions, the performance attributes of PHEVs with charge control technology in the Xcel Energy service territories. The intention was to expand our knowledge of PHEV benefits, consumer usage, and utility opportunities and challenges.
Authors: Markel, T.; Bennion, K; Kramer, W.; Bryan, J.; Giedd, J.
Hybrid Taxis Give Fuel Economy a Lift
4/1/2009
Clean Cities helped Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, and San Antonio, Texas, create hybrid taxi programs that cut gasoline use and air pollution while pleasing drivers and passengers alike.
Petroleum Reduction Planning Tool
11/1/2008
The Petroleum Reduction Planning Tool helps fleets, consumers, and business owners create a strategy to reudce conventional fuel use in fleet and personal vehicles. This interactive tool allows users to evaluate and calculate petroleum reductions by choosing one or a combination of methods.
An Experimental and Modeling Study of the Flammability of Fuel Tank Headspace Vapors from High Ethanol Content Fuels
10/1/2008
An experimental and modeling study was done to determine the flammability of fuel tank headspace vapors as a function of ambient temperature for seven E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline) fuel blends, two types of gasoline, and denatured ethanol at a low tank fill level. Samples in small, closed chambers were tested simultaneously in a cold chamber to determine flammability and pressure rise when ignited by a strong electric spark. Gasoline and E85 fuels were flammable below a critical temperature; above it, the vapor was too rich to burn. Denatured ethanol was flammable at room temperature and colder, down to a critical temperature; below it, the vapor was too lean to burn. The flammability limit temperature of the E85 and gasoline fuels related to the dry vapor pressure equivalent (DVPE), but DVPE did not reliably rank the low-temperature flammability hazards of fuel tank headspace vapors when conventional gasolines were compared with alcohol blends.
Authors: Gardiner, D.; Bardon, M.; Pucher, G.
Clean Cities Annual Metrics Report 2007
9/1/2008
This report summarizes the Department of Energy's Clean Cities coalition accomplishments in 2007, including petroleum displacement data, membership, funding, sales of alternative fuel blends, deployment of AFVs and HEVs, idle reduction initiatives, and fuel economy activities.
Authors: Johnson, C.; Bergeron, P.
Long Beach Transit: Two-Year Evaluation of Gasoline-Electric Hybrid Transit Buses
6/1/2008
This report is part of a series of evaluations from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). DOE, through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has been tracking and evaluating new propulsion systems in transit buses and trucks for more than 10 years using an established and documented evaluation protocol. This report is part of a series of evaluations from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). DOE, through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has been tracking and evaluating new propulsion systems in transit buses and trucks for more than 10 years using an established and documented evaluation protocol.
Authors: Lammert, M.
