• Energy Research
• 2021-2025close
• Energies close
• Transport Research close

This research presents a 100% renewable energy (RE) scenario by 2050 with a high share of electric vehicles on the grid (V2G) developed in Ecuador with the support of the EnergyPLAN analysis tool. Hour-by-hour data iterations were performed to determine solutions among various features, including energy storage, V2G connections that spanned the distribution system, and long-term evaluation. The high participation in V2G connections keeps the electrical system available; meanwhile, the high proportions of variable renewable energy are the pillar of the joint electrical system. The layout of the sustainable mobility scenario and the high V2G participation maintain the balance of the electrical system during most of the day, simplifying the storage equipment requirements. Consequently, the influence of V2G systems on storage is a significant result that must be considered in the energy transition that Ecuador is developing in the long term. The stored electricity will not only serve as storage for future grid use. Additionally, the V2G batteries serve as a buffer between generation from diversified renewable sources and the end-use stage.

Car-sharing services are developing at an ever-increasing pace. Taking into account the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and pursuit of the sustainable development of transport, implementing electric cars in car-sharing fleets is being proposed. On the one hand, these types of vehicles are referred to as emission-free, but on the other hand, their environmental friendliness is questionable due to the emission of carbon dioxide during the production of energy to power them. Although many scientific papers are devoted to the issue of reducing emissions through car sharing, there is a research gap concerning the real production of carbon dioxide by car-sharing vehicles during car-sharing trips. To fill this research gap, the objective of the article was to analyze the actual level of carbon dioxide emissions from combustion and electric vehicles from car-sharing systems produced when renting rides. The test results showed that the electric car turned out to be significantly less emitting. The use of electric vehicles in car-sharing fleets can reduce carbon dioxide emissions from 14% to 65% compared to using cars with internal combustion engines. However, the key role during car-sharing trips is played by the driving style of the drivers, which has been omitted from the literature to date. This should be properly regulated by service providers and focus on the proper use of energy from electric vehicle batteries, especially at low temperatures. The article provides support for operators planning to modernize their fleet of vehicles and fills the research gap concerning car-sharing emissions.

The growing number of electric vehicles in recent years is observable in almost all countries. The country’s energy transition should accompany this rise in electromobility if it is currently generated from non-renewable sources. Only electric vehicles powered by renewable energy sources can be considered zero-emission. Therefore, it is essential to conduct interdisciplinary research on the feasibility of combining energy recovery/generation structures and testing the energy consumption of electric vehicles under real driving conditions. This work presents a comprehensive approach for evaluating the energy consumption of a modern public building–electric vehicle system within a specific location. The original methodology developed includes surveys that demonstrate the required mobility range to be provided to occupants of the building under consideration. In the next step, an energy balance was performed for a novel near-zero energy building equipped with a 199.8 kWp photovoltaic installation, the energy from which can be used to charge an electric vehicle. The analysis considered the variation in vehicle energy consumption by season (winter/summer), the actual charging profile of the vehicle, and the parking periods required to achieve the target range for the user.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are gradually becoming an integral part of the drive to accomplish sustainable energy standards. Due to their limited onboard battery capacity, EVs’ expanding popularity creates a need for widespread charging stations. However, fast charging stations, particularly Extreme Fast Charging (EFC), may impose a hassle on the electrical system due to overload during peak hours, frequent power gaps, and voltage sag. To flatten the power supply, the photovoltaic (PV) Hybrid Energy Storage Systems (HESS) and the uncertain and variable nature of PV systems always include solar and hybrid energy storage systems (HESS) such as batteries and supercapacitors. This research suggests a multi-port DC-DC converter (MPC) with a bidirectional DC-DC converter for battery ESS-integrated PV systems. The MPC can regulate the majority of active power through PV to a battery, PV to an EV charging station, HESS to an EV charging station, and PV to AC grid. Additionally, a PI controller is used for the MPC, taking both the PV and battery voltage variations into account. Therefore, the presented configuration can achieve the key benefits of greater integration, more efficiency, and reduced cost. Simulation results show the advantages of this multiport EV charging circuit with PV-HESS and design in different modes.

Medium and heavy-duty battery electric trucks (BETs) may play a key role in mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from road freight transport. However, technological challenges such as limited range and cargo carrying capacity as well as the required charging time need to be efficiently addressed before the large-scale adoption of BETs. In this study, we apply a geospatial data analysis approach by using a battery electric vehicle potential (BEVPO) model with the datasets of road freight transport surveys for analyzing the potential of large-scale BET adoption in Finland and Switzerland for trucks with gross vehicle weight (GVW) of over 3.5 t. Our results show that trucks with payload capacities up to 30 t have the most potential for electrification by relying on the currently available battery and plug-in charging technology, with 93% (55% tkm) and 89% (84% tkm) trip coverage in Finland and Switzerland, respectively. Electric road systems (ERSs) would be essential for covering 51% trips (41% tkm) of heavy-duty trucks heavier than 30 t in Finland. Furthermore, range-extender technology could improve the trip electrification potential by 3–10 percentage points (4–12 percentage points of tkm).

The article pertains to the utilization of the application potential of MCDM/MCDA (Multi-Criteria Decision Making/Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis) methods in decision-making problems in the field of transport in light of sustainable development. The article consists of a theoretical and an empirical part. As part of the literature studies, a review was carried out on the latest applications of MCDM/MCDA methods for decision-making problems in the field of transport. In the empirical part, a multi-criteria analysis of the placement selection for a strip of expressway located in north-eastern Poland was carried out. For this purpose, a hybrid approach was used, consisting of three selected MCDM/MCDA methods: DEMATEL, REMBRANDT, and VIKOR. The ranking was compared with the results achieved in the EIA report of the investment and the results were obtained by using a different set of MCDM/MCDA methods that were proposed in the first part of the research, i.e., AHP, Fuzzy AHP, TOPSIS, and PROMETHEE. The performed multi-criteria analyses allowed for an eventual multi-dimensional evaluation of the most popular MCDM/MCDA methods currently applied in the field of transport.

Pollutant emissions have been a topic of interest in the last decades. Not only environmentalists but also governments are taking rapid action to reduce emissions. As one of the main contributors, the transport sector is being subjected to strict scrutiny to ensure it complies with the short and long-term regulations. The measures imposed by governments clearly involve all the stakeholders in the logistics sector, from road authorities and logistic operators to truck manufacturers. The improvement of traffic conditions is one of the perspectives in which the reduction of emissions is being addressed. Optimization of traffic flow, avoidance of unnecessary stops, control of the cruise speed, and coordination of trips in an energy-efficient way are necessary steps to remain compliant with the upcoming regulations. In this study, we have estimated the CO2 and NOx emissions in heavy-duty vehicles while traversing signalized intersections, and we examined the differences between various behavioral scenarios. We found a consistent trend indicating that avoiding a stop can potentially reduce CO2 and NOx emissions by up to 0.32kg and 1.8g, respectively. Furthermore, an upper bound for the yearly CO2 savings is provided for the case of The Netherlands. A reduction of 3.2% of the total CO2 emitted by heavy-duty vehicles is estimated. These results put traffic control in the main scene as a yet unexplored dimension to control pollutant emissions, enabling authorities to more accurately estimate cost–benefit plans for traffic control system investments.