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Life cycle model of alternative fuel vehicles: emissions, energy, and cost trade-offs

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  • Hackney, Jeremy
  • de Neufville, Richard

Abstract

This paper describes a life cycle model for performing level-playing field comparisons of the emissions, costs, and energy efficiency trade-offs of alternative fuel vehicles (AFV) through the fuel production chain and over a vehicle lifetime. The model is an improvement over previous models because it includes the full life cycle of the fuels and vehicles, free of the distorting effects of taxes or differential incentives. This spreadsheet model permits rapid analyses of scenarios in plots of trade-off curves or efficiency frontiers, for a wide range of alternatives with current and future prices and levels of technology. The model is available on request. The analyses indicate that reformulated gasoline (RFG) currently has the best overall performance for its low cost, and should be the priority alternative fuel for polluted regions. Liquid fuels based on natural gas, M100 or M85, may be the next option by providing good overall performance at low cost and easy compatibility with mainstream fuel distribution systems. Longer term, electric drive vehicles using liquid hydrocarbons in fuel cells may offer large emissions and energy savings at a competitive cost. Natural gas and battery electric vehicles may prove economically feasible at reducing emissions and petroleum consumption in niches determined by the unique characteristics of those systems.

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  • Hackney, Jeremy & de Neufville, Richard, 2001. "Life cycle model of alternative fuel vehicles: emissions, energy, and cost trade-offs," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 243-266, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:35:y:2001:i:3:p:243-266
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hadder, G.R., 1992. "Future refining impacts of the clean air act amendments of 1990," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 17(9), pages 857-868.
    2. Wang, Quanlu & Sperling, Daniel & Olmstead, Janis, 1993. "Emission Control Cost-Effectiveness of Alternative-Fuel Vehicles," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt3bw4t5pw, University of California Transportation Center.
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    Cited by:

    1. Skerlos, Steven J. & Winebrake, James J., 2010. "Targeting plug-in hybrid electric vehicle policies to increase social benefits," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 705-708, February.
    2. Karplus, Valerie J. & Paltsev, Sergey & Reilly, John M., 2010. "Prospects for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in the United States and Japan: A general equilibrium analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 44(8), pages 620-641, October.
    3. D'Agosto, Márcio de Almeida & Ribeiro, Suzana Kahn, 2009. "Assessing total and renewable energy in Brazilian automotive fuels. A life cycle inventory (LCI) approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(6-7), pages 1326-1337, August.
    4. Chang, Le & Li, Zheng & Gao, Dan & Huang, He & Ni, Weidou, 2007. "Pathways for hydrogen infrastructure development in China: Integrated assessment for vehicle fuels and a case study of Beijing," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(11), pages 2023-2037.
    5. Lee, Young Duk & Ahn, Kook Young & Morosuk, Tatiana & Tsatsaronis, George, 2015. "Environmental impact assessment of a solid-oxide fuel-cell-based combined-heat-and-power-generation system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 455-466.
    6. Garg, Amit & Vishwanathan, Saritha & Avashia, Vidhee, 2013. "Life cycle greenhouse gas emission assessment of major petroleum oil products for transport and household sectors in India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 38-48.
    7. Silvestrini, A. & Monni, S. & Pregernig, M. & Barbato, A. & Dallemand, J.-F. & Croci, E. & Raes, F., 2010. "The role of cities in achieving the EU targets on biofuels for transportation: The cases of Berlin, London, Milan and Helsinki," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 44(6), pages 403-417, July.
    8. Viñoles-Cebolla, Rosario & Bastante-Ceca, María José & Capuz-Rizo, Salvador F., 2015. "An integrated method to calculate an automobile's emissions throughout its life cycle," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 125-136.
    9. Sathaye, Nakul & Horvath, Arpad & Madanat, Samer, 2010. "Unintended impacts of increased truck loads on pavement supply-chain emissions," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 1-15, January.
    10. Jochem, Patrick & Babrowski, Sonja & Fichtner, Wolf, 2015. "Assessing CO2 emissions of electric vehicles in Germany in 2030," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 68-83.
    11. Vedrenne, Michel & Pérez, Javier & Lumbreras, Julio & Rodríguez, María Encarnación, 2014. "Life cycle assessment as a policy-support tool: The case of taxis in the city of Madrid," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 185-197.
    12. Petschnig, Martin & Heidenreich, Sven & Spieth, Patrick, 2014. "Innovative alternatives take action – Investigating determinants of alternative fuel vehicle adoption," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 68-83.
    13. Weijun Wang & Dan Zhao & Zengqiang Mi & Liguo Fan, 2019. "Prediction and Analysis of the Relationship between Energy Mix Structure and Electric Vehicles Holdings Based on Carbon Emission Reduction Constraint: A Case in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-20, May.
    14. Hu, Zhiyuan & Tan, Piqiang & Yan, Xiaoyu & Lou, Diming, 2008. "Life cycle energy, environment and economic assessment of soybean-based biodiesel as an alternative automotive fuel in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 1654-1658.
    15. Lin, Chengtao & Wu, Tian & Ou, Xunmin & Zhang, Qian & Zhang, Xu & Zhang, Xiliang, 2013. "Life-cycle private costs of hybrid electric vehicles in the current Chinese market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 501-510.
    16. Lawrence Fulton, 2020. "A Publicly Available Simulation of Battery Electric, Hybrid Electric, and Gas-Powered Vehicles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-15, May.

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