Transport

Optimising a kinetic energy recovery system for trucks

Student: Zeang Guo

Supervisors: Dr Marc Stettler, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Dr Salvador Acha, Department of Chemical Engineering, Dr Daniel Ainalis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Dr Pablo Achurra-Gonzalez, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

For Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs), a lot of kinetic energy is lost during braking, Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) provides a solution to regenerate and reuse the waste energy. This project aims to provide the numerical evidence of benefits of KERS and give some optimizations to maximize the fuel saving and GHG emission reduction. Numerical models are required to be built to achieve these aims. The software used in this project is Advanced Vehicle Simulators (ADVISOR), which is a Matlab based simulation tool.

Life cycle assessment of advanced lithium ion batteries for use in passenger vehicles

Student: Magdalena Kupfersberger

Supervisors: Professor Anna Korre, Energy Futures Lab, Professor Geoff Kelsall, Department of Chemical Engineering

Electric vehicles (EVs) are seen as a road to low-carbon, or even “zero-emission”, mobility. However, existing literature reveals contradictory results and lack of systematic assessment of the environmental performance of EVs when evaluated on a life-cycle basis. This thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of GHG emissions associated with lithium-ion battery production as well as the use phase of battery EVs. An attributional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with focus on CO2 emissions was carried out in order to compare some of the most dominant and promising battery chemistries. This is the first LCA study in the literature analyzing a combination of novel cathode and anode materials and proprietary data provided by AVL was used in the analysis of the EV’s use phase in order to refine results of existing studies. This LCA is spatially limited to the Chinese market, as both supply and demand for Li-ion batteries continue to be heavily dominated by China.

An Analysis of Liquefied Natural Gas for Heavy Goods Transport in the United Kingdom

Student: Liam Langshaw

Supervisors: Dr Salvador Acha, Department of Chemical Engineering, Dr Marc Stettler, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Transport remains the only major sector in Europe that continues to experience rising greenhouse gas emissions. In particular, heavy goods vehicles face operational constraints, having to travel large distances with high payloads, meaning their potential to be decarbonised is limited. This project investigates the introduction of liquefied natural gas as an alternative fuel in trucks in the United Kingdom on an economic and environmental basis.

Modelling real world electric vehicle usage and charging patterns for vehicle-grid integration

Student: Chen Li

Supervisors: Dr Aruna Sivakumar, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Professor John Polak, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Dr Charilaos Latinopoulos, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Dr Nicolo Daina, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Based on historical records collected from 100 electric vehicles in China, this study aims to recognize patterns of driving and charging behaviour and provide statistical inferences and forecasts. The Charging behaviour prediction model derived from this project is intended for grid operation and infrastructure planning with high EV penetration.

Maritime transportation low-carbon pathways: An evaluation of the solutions to decarbonise the shipping sector

Student: Christophe Minier

Supervisors: Dr Joana Portugal Pereira, Centre for Environmental Policy, Ms Rene van Diemen, Centre for Environmental Policy

International shipping represents almost 3% of total carbon emissions and is contributing significantly to air pollution globally. Therefore, its activities need to reduce their climate impacts and dependance on fossil fuels. This project aims to assess several low-carbon strategies existing in the shipping sector in terms of environmental impact and levelised costs.

Forecasting the material and manufacturing costs of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles with commodity price feedback

Student: Nathan Murray

Supervisors: Dr Ajay Gambhir, Grantham Institute, Mr Oliver Schmidt, Centre for Environmental Policy, James Whiteside, Wood Mackenzie, Dr Adam Hawkes, Department of Chemical Engineering

The mass uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) is an important pathway to decarbonize transportation. EVs are relatively more energy efficient and lead to less lifecycle GHG emissions than internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). This project investigates how and when EVs will become cost-competitive with ICEVs. Ignoring the effects of transportation demand modulation by urbanization, globalisation, and autonomous driving, the complete electrification of the global road transportation system will most likely occur if: (1) there are enough materials to manufacture vehicles to replace the existing fleet and; (2) the cost associated with mining these materials and manufacturing EVs is economical compared with maintaining or purchasing ICEVs.

The impact of Shared Autonomous Electric Vehicles on the carbon footprint of urban transportation

Student: Hugo Signollet

Supervisors: Dr Koen van Dam, Department of Chemical Engineering, Dr Salvador Acha, Department of Chemical Engineering, Dr Christoph Mazur, Department of Chemical Engineering

Autonomous Vehicles are real and the question is not whether or not they will enter the automotive market but when. Starting from this observation, my thesis aims at exploring the best ways to use this new technology to improve urban transportation and reduce its carbon emissions. In my project, I used Python to model a city and its transportation system. The core of the project is to use this model to analyse the effects on transportation of different scenarios regarding the possible ways to implement Shared Autonomous Electric Vehicles.