Hybrid vehicles contain two engines: (1) one electric motor, which uses the power to drive the vehicle and (2) one combustion engine (or a fuel cell), which supplies electric power to the electric motor or the batteries. In “parallel” systems the combustion engine also drives the vehicle. Hybrids generally require smaller batteries than full-electric cars, […]

The concept of EVs is actually quite old, dating back to around 1900. Although fuels won the battle in those days, EVs are returning. Especially driven for their local benefits on the environment, many regions and cities are setting up trials and programs with EVs. Batteries will be crucial for their success. Battery capacity, lifetime, […]

Vehicles running on electricity do not necessarily fall in the category of sustainable transport, because they may still use power from fossil or nuclear power plants. Nevertheless, if the share of power from renewable sources increases, electric vehicles (EVs) also become more sustainable. In some cases, EVs could exclusively run on power from renewable sources, […]

Hydrogen is a versatile energy carrier that can be produced from any fossil or nonfossil primary energy source. It can be converted into mechanical energy in combustion engines and into power using so-called “fuel cells,”, but the business case has not been widely spread yet. Although (fossil) hydrogen was already applied in some plane flights, […]

In addition, several types of biofuels are currently under development that could become available in the mid or long term. Most of these technolo­gies use lignocellulosic biomass (“second generation”) in the form of wood residues, paper waste, agricultural waste, and dedicated energy crops. Feed­stocks of this type are far larger and are expected to be […]

Ethanol can substitute gasoline. Bio-ethanol (produced from biomass) is commonly used in low blends in gasoline, typically 5% (E5) or 10% (E10) on volume basis. Higher blends can be used in flexible fuel vehicles (up to E85), which are currently offered by a wide range of manufacturers. First-generation bio-ethanol is produced by fermentation of sugars. […]

Biodiesel The most commonly produced liquid biofuels for transportation are biodiesel and ethanol. Chemical and energy characteristics of commercial biodiesel are largely the same as fossil diesel. There are slight differences between biodiesel (or fatty-ester methyl ether; FAME), pure plant oil, and synthetic biodiesel. Biofuel blends can be burned in conventional combustion engines with or […]

Renewable energy technologies can be applied at different places in the transportation supply chain (from primary source to type of vehicle; see Figure B.5). Figure B.5 From primary energy source to end use in vehicles. The lighter gray regions represent the technologies where renewable energy can be applied (From RETRANS).