Publications

Assessment of Light-Duty EV Costs and Consumer Benefits in the United States in the 2022–2035 Time Frame

10/3/2022

This paper analyzes bottom-up vehicle component-level costs to assess average battery electric vehicle, plug-in hybrid vehicle, and conventional vehicle prices across major U.S. light-duty vehicle classes through 2035. These cost estimates are used to evaluate broader consumer benefits, as well as to discuss the implications for vehicle emission regulations in the United States.

Authors: Slowik, P.; Isenstadt, A.; Pierce, L.; Searle, S.

Notes:

This copyrighted publication can be accessed on the International Council on Clean Transportation's website.

No Fleet Left Behind: Barriers and Opportunities for Small Fleet Zero-Emission Trucking

10/3/2022

This paper evaluates the zero-emission truck market and suggests actions to overcome barriers for adoption for small fleets. Failing to support small fleets would put them at risk of being unable to transition to zero-emission vehicles, in turn putting jurisdictions at risk of failing to achieve emissions reduction targets.

Authors: Brito, J.

Notes:

This copyrighted publication can be accessed on the International Council on Clean Transportation's website.

Techno-Economic, Feasibility, and Life Cycle Analysis of Renewable Propane: Final Report

10/1/2022

The Propane Education and Research Council (PERC) has engaged with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to develop information that is critical to understanding the current and future landscape for renewable propane (RP) and the value proposition for recovery of RP from existing and planned HEFA biorefineries. In summary the following outcomes are identified from this study: (1) production of incremental RP by increasing the severity of the hydroisomerization step is insignificant to the overall propane yield from a HEFA biorefinery, however production of renewable butane (or LPG2) is quite significant thus suggesting alternate strategies for valorizing these fractions; (2) the value proposition for recovering RP and renewable LPG is quite strong, with capital recovery payback periods of 14 months for a small biorefinery producing 3.5 million gallons per year RP to as short as 2 months for a large biorefinery producing 87 million gallons per year RP. Paybacks for renewable LPG are as much as 50% shorter; and (3) current and projected expansions of renewable diesel will greatly expand the potential availability of RP as a by-product. Several promising new pathways are under development but will not significantly increase production of RP for the next decade.

Authors: Robert M. Baldwin, Mark R. Nimlos, and Yimin Zhang

2022 Annual Evaluation of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Deployment and Hydrogen Fuel Station Network Development

9/1/2022

California's Assembly Bill 8 requires the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to assess the size of the current and future fuel cell electric vehicle fleet annually, based on vehicle registrations with the Department of Motor Vehicles, auto manufacturer responses to ARB surveys of projected future sales, and current and future hydrogen fuel station locations and capacity. This information informs the state’s decisions for future funding of hydrogen fuel stations, including the number and location of stations as well as minimum technical requirements for those stations.

Ethanol Blends: Providing a Renewable Fuel Choice

8/10/2022

More than 21 million vehicles on U.S. roads are flexible-fuel vehicles (FFVs). These vehicles can operate on either gasoline or blends of gasoline and ethanol up to E85 (a gasoline-ethanol blend containing 51% to 83% ethanol). As a renewable fuel, ethanol offers significant advantages. It is produced predominantly in the United States, made from home-grown feedstocks, and burns cleaner than gasoline.

Diesel Emissions Reduction Act Fifth Report to Congress: Highlights of the Diesel Emissions Reduction Program

8/1/2022

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Transportation and Air Quality administers the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) program. EPA awarded the first DERA grants in 2008, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants in 2009, and grants from funds appropriated in Fiscal Years (FY) 2009 through 2018. This Fifth Report to Congress summarizes final results from FY 2008-2018.

Community Impacts: Accessible Electric Vehicle Carshare Programs

6/6/2022

Having abundant and affordable access to transportation affects an individual’s ability to live a healthy and fulfilling life. To date, a majority of carshare models have been implemented in urban, affluent areas, and have not focused on electric vehicles (EVs). A variety of EV carshare programs were evaluated with the goal of identifying and understanding best practices and challenges associated with implementing these programs in underserved locations, specifically in low-income and rural areas. This paper shares the design and results to date of several of these programs, as well as a framework for designing a carshare program.

Authors: Herman, C.

A Framework to Analyze the Requirements of a Multiport Megawatt-Level Charging Station for Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicles

5/21/2022

Widespread adoption of heavy-duty (HD) electric vehicles (EVs) will soon necessitate the use of megawatt (MW)-scale charging stations to charge the high capacity HD EV battery packs. While higher throughput will maximize revenue-generating operations, at high rates of charging, the station design needs to anticipate possible station traffic, average and peak power demand, and charging/waiting time targets to meet. High-voltage direct current fast charging (DCFC) is an attractive candidate for MW-scale charging stations at the time of this study but there are no precedents for such station design. We present a modeling and data analysis framework to elucidate the dependencies of a MW-scale station operation on vehicle traffic data and station design parameters and how that impacts vehicle electrification. This framework integrates an agent-based charging station model with vehicle schedules obtained through real-world, long-haul vehicle telemetry data analysis to explore the station design and operation space. We present a case study showing the application of this framework to: (i) choose optimal locations for charging infrastructure to enable vehicle electrification, (ii) simulate vehicle charging behavior to create charge demand schedules for MW-scale charging locations, (iii) analyze power/energy requirements for these stations, and (iv) optimize station design and control to increase vehicle throughput. Real-world vehicle travel data is used to generate distributions of vehicle arrival time and state of the charge (SOC) for hypothetical MW-scale charging stations. Monte Carlo simulation is used to explore various design considerations associated with MW-scale charging stations and electric vehicle battery technologies.

Authors: Mishra, P.; Miller, E.; Santhanagopalan, S.; Bennion, K.; Meintz, A.

Charting the Course for Early Truck Electrification

5/2/2022

Trucks in the United States produce 25% of transportation greenhouse gas emissions even though they only make up 10% of vehicles on the road. Across the United States, fleets have already committed to deploying over 140,000 electric vehicles. Although this trend is enabled by technology, regulation is also encouraging electric truck adoption. California now requires truck builders to sell an increasing percentage of electric trucks in the state. And 15 additional states signed a joint memorandum of understanding to follow California’s path. This report uses real-world observed trucking telematics data from Geotab to investigate which trucks in California and New York can electrify the fastest based on currently available electric truck models. The report also examines the amount of energy and charging infrastructure that these early electrifiable trucks need, in addition to emissions from the grid under various charging schedules.

Authors: Lund, J.; Mullaney, D.; Porter, E.; Schroeder, J.

Notes:

This copyrighted publication can be accessed on the Rocky Mountain Institute website.

2021 Zero Emission Vehicle Market Study: Volume 2: Intra-California Regions Defined by Air Districts

4/14/2022

California set a goal to transition new light-duty vehicle sales to 100% zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs) by 2035. To assist California and the other ZEV states to monitor and manage the success of policies promoting ZEVs and ZEV fueling infrastructure deployment, this research assesses car-owning households’ responses to these new technology vehicles and new fueling behaviors. This report assesses the readiness of household consumers in California to support state goals, i.e., as goals become more ambitious and requirements on manufacturers increase, are more car-owning households poised to become ZEV buyers? The analysis explores differences within California, based on boundaries of air quality districts. This study question is addressed via comparison of two large sample surveys of car-owning households. These surveys were completed in first calendar quarters of 2019 and 2021. Both questionnaires measure consumer awareness, knowledge, assessments, and consideration of ZEVs. Note:

This copyrighted publication can be accessed on the eScholarship website.

Authors: Kurani, K.

ATRAVEL Fact Sheet

4/1/2022

ATRAVEL helps individuals and transportation planners examine travel options' cost, travel time, and emissions. This fact sheet provides an overview of the tool and how it can be used to evaluate travel choices via personal vehicle, ride-hail services, and mass transit.

Authors: Argonne National Laboratory

Biofuel Innovation

4/1/2022

Innovations in biofuels research are leveraged today in transportation technologies and infrastructure. This fact sheet provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) biofuels research and development (R&D). Through 300 active R&D projects, BETO initiatives encourage cost-competitive, efficient, and sustainably produced biofuels.

Considerations for Department of Defense Implementation of Zero-Emission Vehicles and Charging Infrastructure

3/1/2022

In December 2021, the president issued Executive Order (EO) 14057 on Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability. The EO requires the Department of Defense to transition its non-tactical vehicles to a 100% zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) fleet, including 100% of light-duty acquisitions by 2027 and 100% of medium- and heavy-duty acquisitions by 2035. This document provides considerations to comply with these requirements and transition to a ZEV fleet efficiently and quickly. It covers planning for ZEVs and electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment, suggested roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders in designing EV charging equipment, and execution issues including acquisition, installation, and ongoing fleet management.

Authors: Hodge, C.; Bennett, J.; Bentley, J.; Boyce, L.

Cargo Handling Equipment at Ports

3/1/2022

Ports, critical to trade and economic vitality, depend on a wide range of vehicles and machinery to move goods. Historically, most port equipment has been powered by diesel, contributing to poor air quality and greenhouse gas emissions. Increasingly, however, port equipment is powered by less-polluting fuels, including electricity, CNG, LNG, and LPG. This fact sheet describes the specific types of cargo handling equipment, their functions, and the fuel types currently available to power them.

Authors: Andrew Burnham

Evaluation of Policies for EV Charging Infrastructure Deployment

2/1/2022

To help guide federal, state, and local policymakers in the development of policies and programs focused on electric vehicle (EV) charging station deployment, this study evaluates the effectiveness of various policy approaches in contributing to deployments and broader EV charging market development. Using both statistical analysis and interviews of policymakers and business leaders across key states, this study aims to identify the major existing U.S. policies adopted between 2016 and 2020, to evaluate the effectiveness of these policies, to evaluate the relationship between policies and the development of the broader EV charging market, and to identify opportunities for future policy formulation.

Notes:

This copyrighted publication can be accessed on the Fuels Institute website.