Transport

With some noise, Virgin Air and Boeing announced that they were doing a commercial flight on biofuel. Well, it was only a short-haul, London-Amsterdam, and it was only one of four tanks that had the new fuel, and it was only 20% of the blend in that one tank that came from bio, but we could assume that the passengers preferred safety to pioneering.

The EU package on renewable fuels and climate is advertised for Wednesday January 23rd. The winning Number 20 seems to be secured for energy efficiency improvements, the fraction from renewables and the reductions of GHG. All should be 20% and achieved by the year 2020, but what about Number 10? 10% has been suggested as a target for biofuels in transport, but has been heavily criticised by one of the EU research institutes JRC only recently, as reported in The Financial Times. The critique is broad and deals with price, GHG-emissions, cost over benefit , energy security and employment. All factors said to have either too small positive effects to be significant or, flat out, large negative effects.

Different but expected views

As can be expected, these views are not shared by all. The division in responses largely follows expected lines. Producers of biofuels are sceptical over the criticism while several environmental NGOs find the critique justified.

In bioenergy, it is often difficult to see the wood for the trees. The many articles about 'truths' and 'myths' do not really help. Meanwhile, biofuels are currently produced in volumes where they start to make a real contribution to energy security.

An ethanol boom in the USA has led to the production of 16 million cubic meters, primarily based on corn. Brazil has a longer tradition and currently produces 15 million cubic meters of ethanol, using sugarcane. In Europe, Germany is leading with a 2 million m3 production of biodiesel in 2005. Production cost for bioethanol has come down to 0.15 - 0.18 euro/liter (with one liter of ethanol equivalent to 0.67 l of gasoline in terms of energy content).

Are biofuels sustainable?

Well, they are definitely not energy or CO2 neutral. The ethanol production process is energy intensive, consuming almost as much energy as it produces. Depending on the carbon emissions of energy used in production, the net CO2 effect can be a fine balance, rising a lot of debate. B

Technological dead end or a challenge to be overcome?

When screening the data sheets of prototypes electric vehicles and electric vehicle batteries, you often come across some spectacular recharging speeds. The 35 kWh lithium-ion batteries of Altair Nanotechnologies for instance are said to fully charge in a mere ten minutes.

What the data sheets don’t say is that the electric connection must be capable of supplying sufficient power for this rapid recharging. Only ten minutes for 35 kWh? That would require a 250 kW connection. This is about 20 times the maximum power of a residential connection. Consequently, rapid charging would be impossible at home. Moreover, it would create a serious challenge for any grid connections for electric recharging stations located along the road.

Several studies have asserted that a large penetration of plug-in electric vehicles is feasible without massive investments in new power generation and transmission infrastructure. But that is only true if those vehicles recharge at slow speed during the night, when there is sufficient idle generation and transmission capacity.

How far away is mass marketing of electric vehicles?

Electric vehicles are being taken more seriously than ever before. And not just by environmentalists and electrical engineers. Some of the world’s biggest car companies are finally seeing the writing on the wall.

Is this a positive evolution? In my opinion, it certainly is. Even if the electricity is produced with coal-fired power stations without carbon capture, a plug-in hybrid car will still emit about 25 per cent less CO2 over its life cycle than a standard gasoline car [1]. Moreover, electricity generation is evolving towards an increasing share of carbon free renewables in its energy mix.

Yet in spite of this, the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce is considering subsidizing the production of coal-to-liquid transport fuels. One has to wonder why, since that option results in approximately double the CO2 emissions compared to the coal-to-electricity option.

Does the current interest mean that mass production of electrical vehicles is on the horizon? Yes, but it is not likely to be tomorrow. First of all, the current hype is based more on promises and prospects than any hard facts and proven hardware. The inescapable truth is that there are still no true electrically powered standard cars available on the mass market. Secondly, what will be achieved in the market as a whole in the next few years depends largely on progress in battery technology, and more specifically, lithium-ion battery technology [2].

The Aptera is the newest two-seat car with high fuel efficiency entering the market – the company is accepting orders for delivery in about one year. The producers claim that it can achieve more than 300 miles to the gallon (or less than 0.78 l/100 km) and a top speed of 150 km/h.

The three wheeled car comes in full electrical or hybrid diesel versions. The full electric version is powered by a 25 hp (19 kW) electrical motor fed by Ni-Zn batteries and it will include regenerative breaking. The hybrid version will also run 100% on electric power but will have a one cylinder diesel engine to charge the batteries.

The Aptera is said to have a range around 900 km on the hybrid version and 200 km on the full electric version. The car is equipped with a PV panel on the roof that power an air conditioning unit that keeps the car cool on a sunny day – when you need it. It is made of 100% recycled materials and provides a spacious “cockpit” for two passengers.

The high efficiency achieved is due to the extreme aerodynamics that provide it with a very low drag coefficient.

Now, will this car reach a high market share among the “green generation”?

Would you get a Tesla Roadster or Aptera utility vehicle?

Comparing environmental performance, price, and efficiency

The Popular Mechanics Magazine Web site published an interesting comparison between various alternative vehicle fuels. They imagined a rally from New-York to California and calculated how different types of cars would perform in terms of raw material consumption, fuel need, fuel cost, and mileage.

Electricity turns out to be by far the cheapest fuel option, having a fuel cost of $60, compared to $110 for natural gas, $231 for biodiesel, $425 for ethanol and $804 for hydrogen fuel cells.

Biofuels are not simple. There are issues about price, feed-stock, land-use and many more aspects. The World Land Trust sounds the alarm bell saying that the extended land-use can be harmful to biodiversity and even increase climate change.

Worldwatch Institute, in a new book "Biofuels for Transport", debates the potential and the implications it may have on agriculture, and is more optimistic. They even come to the conclusion that the rising prices for feed-stock could benefit the economies of poor countries who have suffered for a long time when rich countries have driven food prices low by subsidising their own farmers.

Those most hurt by a change would be the urban population in poor countries, but they would have little help from prices so low that they could not subsist local farming, anyway. Other means for poverty alleviation are needed. It is indeed a tightrope walk they describe, but not impossible. It will, however, take some quite enlightened politicians to make it work!

On a technological note, the Worldwatch also observes the long-term solutions are in feed-stock that do not compete with food production like waste and cellulosic materials. Equally important is that we are not only talking fuel-substitution, but "a portfolio of options that includes dramatic improvements in vehicle fuel economy, investment in public transportation, and better urban planning".

The Oil Drum offers a comprehensive overview article on local rail with lots of ideas for local governments on best practice projects.

There are examples of projects that move thousands of (daily) commuters to public transport, making both a large social and environmental impact. The secret to success is to 'always think in networks', which is not trivial. Construction of a single line typically spans several political mandates. Building a network requires decades.

One of Zürich S-Bahn's second-generation bi-level EMUs on a test run: RABe 514 004 on the Winterthur-Etzwilen line, March 22nd 2006. Photo by Reinhard Reiss, from RailFanEurope.net.

The elusive promise of hydrogen fuel cells seems to be always '10 years ahead', but via Independent.ie, we learn what to look forward to if '10 years ahead' materialises:

"Our target is to produce a hydrogen fuel-cell car for $50,000 by 2015," says Peter Froeschle, a senior manager at DaimlerChrysler, which has already spent more than €1bn (£675m) developing its fleet of prototypes, " though we don't expect the operation to be profitable until 2020."

Today's price of GBP 60,000 for the 13 hydrogen fuel-cell Toyota Prius mentioned in the same article is not far off the price of the all-electric Tesla Roadster, with a well-to-wheel efficiency several times higher than fuel-cell vehicles. Moreover, the Roadster can have a full tank of electricity for a couple of euros.

Both fuel-cell vehicles and electric vehicles need to go through a similar cost learning curve to achieve a $50,000 target by 2015, but electric vehicles have a few things going for them:

• Infrastructure for electricity distribution is already available. Widespread use of electric vehicles could be an enabling technology for the smart grid of the future.
• Low-carbon fuel, as the electricity system is increasingly decarbonised.
• Low fuel cost.
• High well-to-wheel efficiency.

If you live in or visit some of the megacities with transportation problems you surely find yourself envying the motorcyclists. Cruising between the cars, even without travelling at high speeds, they are reaching their destination well ahead of those of us in cars. Here is the ultimate solution: a solar-powered motorbike energy storage capacity for 20km and a top-speed of 50 km/h!

Admittedly, it looks more like a snail, but there are several motorbikes for city use that have a protective shield of the sort this one has.

It is still a concept from a Spanish sports car company SunRed that was awarded a prize in motorshow in Barcelona recently. Just admit it: you would really like to ride it! Wouldn't you?

The answer might be - a capacitor!

In a recent IEA-workshop, a good survey of the status of battery development was delivered. The Li-ion batteries are almost ready to be used in plug-in hybrid vehicles, but there is a further development needed to get batteries to the energy-density required for "standard-size" electrical vehicle.

" It's not even very difficult", says Lars Christensen, founder and director of the Inventor's Consortium PL Brake. Inventors from PL Brake have been aware of the counter-flow hazard for quite a long time, and in 2001 started a development project capable of rendering such drivers “hors de combat”. The system could have prevented the recent tragic accident - which made two small children orphans - had the system been in use on Danish motorways.

Trains have changed tremendously over the years and are well prepared to take up the fight with at least short-haul flights. One of the reasons is the energy efficiency and the fact that they have the advantage to be totally carbon-free for their propulsion. A thing that airline industry can only dream about. Modern trains (whiiizz) are 40-50% faster than the old loco-pulled variations and still uses 30% less energy. And the business is planning for more.

In France the TGV-est took off this week-end and will be able to connect a huge part of France with Paris (and vice versa) and at a speed of up to 320 km/h. Do you remember that Stevenson's first loco was called the Rocket? It peaked at some 60 km/h. The TGV has peaked at almost 575 km/h! But some still dwell on the fact that even the fastest high-speed trains are slower than aircrafts, but all things considered (especially terminal handling) makes all the difference.

Now we only hope for an improved co-operation between different country's railway-systems. There is the Achilles-heel today. It is possible to plan across borders with the use of internet but you still can not order the tickets and when you see how often you have to change the train it is certainly discouraging.

Two rockets 178 years apart.

Don't we all look more closely to the statement about origin of goods, especially food, in our shops nowadays and think about global warming? This healthy reaction may however not be enough to make the right decisions. One stunning example is that flowers grown in Africa and transported by air to our shops may have a smaller carbon footprint than those grown around the corner in heated greenhouses!

Food miles is a concept that takes the bigger perspective but still comes short since there are more ecological factors than energy only. It is certainly not easy to exercise the power we have as customers. One solution to this may be labelling with fair trade or fair planet that takes the bigger perspective into account with more aspects to the issues.

The stories about electric cars pop up now and again. In these days there is much more logic to them than there has ever been, but still it makes us wonder if there are any real intentions or is it just because it is fun?

In one respect it looks real enough and that is when the producers target niche-markets where the pockets are deep and the lust to show-off is an important part of the life of the buyers. This is the case with Tesla that still seems to be kicking.

Is this also the case with Zap? Their concepts certainly do not appeal to the jet-set who would rather be caught dead than seen in an electric 3-wheeler that has a top-speed of 65 km/h and is painted like a zebra! But then it is announced that they co-operate with Lotus, and that would be a totally different ball-game!

Imagine the day when you get run past on a highway by an electric sports-car!

Filling up at the gas station will cost around 50 €, and loads about 450 kWh of energy into the tank. A combustion engine will convert this energy into approximately 100 kWh of mechanical energy, to be used for propulsion, on-board electronics and airconditioning. Consuming this amount of fuel emits over 150 kg of CO2.

But now, electric vehicles are entering the market with battery charges of 25 - 30 kWh. This is still about a quarter of what a combustion vehicle has available. But the performance of electric vehicles can become similar or even better, bridging the gap through regenerative braking, the different torque-speed characteristic of the electic motor, and its very high efficiency to convert electric into mechanical power. And 30 kWh of electricity requires only 75 kWh of primary energy, and emits only 15 kg of CO2. This is a factor 6 improvement in primary energy use, and even a factor 10 in CO2 emissions. At night tariff, 30 kWh of electricity will come at about 2 euro.

A popular class at Santa Rosa Junior College, California

At Santa Rosa Junior College in Petaluma, California, mechanics and do-it-yourself environmentalists are learning how to convert a standard car into an alternative fuel vehicle running on ethanol, vegetable oil, or electricity. The class was created two years ago by diesel truck mechanic Mark Armstrong and has quickly grown in popularity. The maximum number of forty students filled the class soon after registration opened this year and another forty had to be turned away.

The Chevrolet Volt announced at the North American Auto Show

General Motors (GM) has faced severe criticism for shutting down its production of the EV-1 electric vehicle in the nineties (see blog post 'Who killed the electric car?'). At the Detroit North American Auto Show in January, GM announced that it is currently developing the EV-1’s successor, called the Chevrolet Volt.

GM shares this newfound interest in electric hybrid vehicles with Toyota, Ford and Daimler Chrysler. This interest is fuelled in part by promising technology breakthroughs in lithium-ion batteries. The technology is currently tested and approved at the battery cell level. What remains to be done is the packaging of cells into large units and testing them in the vehicles.

A car and emergency power supply all in one

The more we rely on electric power, the more vulnerable we become when there is a grid power outage. Is that an argument against the development of electric cars? ‘We won’t even be able to recharge our car batteries during a power outage,’ critics say.

A small California-based company, AC Propulsion, has turned this potential disadvantage into an advantage. It has developed battery systems for cars that can be charged by plugging into the house mains as well as delivering electricity back to the house. That would make it possible to run lights, the freezer and even electric heaters off the energy stored in the car.

And if these battery systems are used in a plug-in hybrid vehicle, they can be paired with the car’s gasoline engine to recharge the batteries. So you will still be able to drive if necessary during, or immediately after, a power outage.

Reference

Article 'Electric Cars: What Happens When the Power's Out?' in the MIT Technology Review