Publications

Transitioning to a Hydrogen Future: Learning from the Alternative Fuels Experience

2/1/2006

A wealth of practical knowledge concerning alternative fuel technologies, products, national policies, and market introduction exists within industry, regulated fleets, and voluntary programs. Issues relating to consumer choice, capital investment, business decision making, manufacturing, and infrastructure construction will need to be understood in the alternative fuels context if the hydrogen transition is to occur efficiently. The overall objective of this project is to assess relevant knowledge within the alternative fuels community and recommend transitional strategies and tactics that will further the hydrogen transition in the transportation sector and help avoid stranded assets in the alternative fuels industry.

Authors: Melendez, M.

Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report - February 2006

2/1/2006

The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report provides regional alternative and conventional fuel prices for biodiesel, compressed natural gas, ethanol, hydrogen, propane, gasoline, and diesel. The Alternative Fuel Price Report is a snapshot in time of retail fuel prices.

Credit for New Qualified Alternative Motor Vehicles (Advanced Lean Burn Technology Motor Vehicles and Qualified Hybrid Motor Vehicles)

1/13/2006

On January 13, 2006, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued guidance regarding the tax credits for light-duty (less than 8,500 lbs. GVWR) lean-burn and hybrid electric vehicles. The guidance establishes the procedures that manufacturers must use to certify that their vehicles qualify for the tax credit. The IRS plans to issue additional guidance at a later date to address procedures for qualifying alternative fuel vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, and heavy-duty hybrid vehicles.

The guidance provides procedures whereby a manufacturer may certify to the IRS that its vehicles qualify for the tax credits enacted in EPAct 2005. The guidance also provides procedures for reporting on the total number of qualifying vehicles that have been sold. Upon receiving the required information, the IRS will issue an acknowledgement. A manufacturer that has submitted the proper certification and received an acknowledgement from the IRS may then certify to customers/puchasers that the vehicles qualify for tax credits. For taxpayers to claim the credit, they must place the vehicle in service after December 31, 2005. The taxpayer also must be the original user of the vehicle (first purchaser or lessee) and the vehicle must be predominately used in the U.S.

Analysis of Coconut-Derived Biodiesel and Conventional Diesel Fuel Samples from the Philippines

1/1/2006

Authors: Alleman, T.L.; McCormick, R.L.

Steam Reforming of Ethanol at Elevated Pressures for Distributed Hydrogen Production

1/1/2006

Ethanol is an attractive renewable fuel because, as a liquid fuel, it has a high energy density, it is easy to transport, and it is environmentally more benign than petroleum-derived fuels. The hydrogen produced by reforming needs to be purified and compressed to the appropriate storage and dispensing pressures. Compressing hydrogen is energy intensive and can consume a significant fraction of the fuel's heating value. A promising option for producing hydrogen from ethanol is by conducting the ethanol steam reforming reaction at an elevated pressure, since injecting liquid feeds (ethanol and water) into a pressurized reactor requires very little energy.

Authors: Lee, S.; Papadias, D.; Ahluwalia, R.; Ahmed, S.

FAA Inherently Low Emission Airport Vehicle Pilot Program

1/1/2006

This document is the Federal Aviation Administration's final report for the Inherently Low Emissions Airport Vehicle Pilot Program (ILEAV). The report describes the current level of ILEAV project activity based on information provided by participating airport sponsors in their progress reports of Sept. 30, 2005. The ILEAV program produced a total investment of over $14 million in airport low-emission technology, including federal grant and local matching contributions. The lessons learned from the ILEAV program have been valuable to the FAA and its development of new air quality initiatives.

Transportation Air Quality Selected Facts and Figures

1/1/2006

In response to the Clean Air Act (CAA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established National Ambient Air Quality Standards for various pollutants, known as criteria pollutants, that adversely affect human health and welfare. This report focuses on the three major transportation-related criteria pollutants: ozone and its precursors, volatile organic compounds (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx); particulate matter; and carbon monoxide. This report contains historical measurements and data concerning transportation-induced pollution.

Ten Years of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Operations at SunLine Transit Agency, April 2003 - December 2004

1/1/2006

SunLine Transit Agency operating in and around Palm Springs, California, started operation of compressed natural gas (CNG) transit buses in 1994 by converting its entire operating fleet to CNG overnight. Now, more than 10 years later, SunLine is still committed to CNG transit bus operations as well as testing other future technologies. The objective of this report is to capture some of the lessons learned and experiences gained at SunLine over the past 10 years.

Authors: Chandler, K.

The Harmful Effects of Vehicle Exhaust: A Case for Policy Change

1/1/2006

Most people assume that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is sufficiently protecting air quality by setting limits for chemicals released from vehicles, requiring newer engines to be less polluting, and restricting levels normally found in outdoor air. While the government monitors pollutants at fixed stations, these measurements bear little resemblance to the pollutiuon you and your family experience while moving through daily life. This report examines a variety of harmful effects from air pollution, including that caused by vehicle exhaust. The report focuses on Connecticut.

Authors: Wargo, J.; Wargo, L.; Alderman, N; Brown, D. R.

Clean Cities Around the World

11/1/2005

Clean Cities International (CCI), modeled after the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Clean Cities initiative, facilitates the exchange of information on alternative fuels for the transportation sector to interested countries around the globe. The benefits of using alternative fuels are clearall can profit from cleaning the air, producing and using fuels domestically, and enhancing local economic activity. CCI seeks to use the successful experience in North America to help international communities realize these benefits.

Operating Experience and Teardown Analysis for Engines Operated on Biodiesel Blends (B20)

11/1/2005

The work described in this paper provides quantitative in-use data on the operating cost and engine durability impacts of B20 use in U.S. Postal Service (USPS) vehicles. This was accomplished through teardown analysis of engines and fuel systems removed from these vehicles and comparisons of wear characteristics to standard diesel vehicles operated in the same service. Engine- and fuel-related maintenance costs were also compared.

Authors: Fraer, R.; Dinh, H.; Proc, K.; McCormick, R.; Chandler, K.; Buchholz, B.

Beyond a Billion: Clean Cities Coalitions Have Displaced More than a Billion Gallons of Gasoline

10/1/2005

Fact sheet describing how Clean Cities portfolio elements displaced a billion gallons of petroleum.

Strategy for the Integration of Hydrogen as a Vehicle Fuel into the Existing Natural Gas Vehicle Fueling Infrastructure of the Interstate Clean Transportation Corridor Project (April 22, 2004 - August 31, 2005)

9/1/2005

The objective of this study is to evaluate whether the esisting vehicle stock and fueling infrastructure of the Interstate Clean Transportation Corridor (ICTC) can help form the foundation for the development of the 'hydrogen highway' that many policy makers and stakeholders are interested in creating. This paper evaluates the potential for 'piggy-backing' early hydrogen production, dispensing, and consumption onto the already successfully deployed natural gas vehicle projects pioneered by the ICTC.

VTA, SamTrans Look into Future with Bus Demo

9/1/2005

This fact sheet provides information about the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Zero-Emission Bus Program. VTA is currently collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, & Infrastructure Technologies Program to evaluate the performance of three fuel cell transit buses developed by Ballard Power Systems and Gillig Corporation.

Heavy-Duty Waste Hauler with Chemically Correct Natural Gas Engine Diluted with EGR and Using a Three-Way Catalyst

9/1/2005

NREL and the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) through separate agreements are funding a program with Mack Trucks Inc. to develop the next generation heavy-duty natural gas engine to be installed in a refuse hauler. Mack and Southwest Research Institute developed the E7G 12-liter lean burn natural gas engine to operate with stoichiometric (chemically correct) combustion and cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). This engine was coupled to a three-way catalyst for reducing emissions. The objective of the project is to develop a natural gas engine with nitrogen oxide (NO_x) and particulate matter (PM) emissions of 0.5 g/bhp-hr and 0.01 g/bhp-hr respectively with the use of a three-way catalyst.

Authors: Reppert, T.; Chiu, J.