World Electric Vehicle Journal

610 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Energy Efficiency Evaluation of a Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle under European Procedure, Worldwide Harmonized Procedure and Actual Use

by F. Badin, F. Le Berr, G. Castel, JC. Dabadie, H. Briki, P. Degeilh and M. Pasquier

World Electr. Veh. J. 2015, 7(3), 475-488; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj7030475 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1179

Abstract

This paper describes a two-fold approach carried out in collaboration between IFPEN and the French ADEME with the aim to evaluate a Plug-in Hybrid vehicle according to its conditions of use. The vehicle considered, an Opel Ampera, has been widely tested on a [...] Read more.

This paper describes a two-fold approach carried out in collaboration between IFPEN and the French ADEME with the aim to evaluate a Plug-in Hybrid vehicle according to its conditions of use. The vehicle considered, an Opel Ampera, has been widely tested on a chassis dyno and simulated using IFPEN LMS.IMAGINE.Lab AMESim^® platform. The software principles and its validation on different specific cases, thanks to experimental results, are described. The PHEV simulation tool is used to evaluate the influence of two European standard procedures and the influence of their parameters on the weighed CO₂ emission. Full article

546 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation of CO₂ Emissions in Production and Usage Phases for a Hybrid Vehicle System Component

by Tetsuya Niikuni, Ichiro Daigo, Shunsuke Kuzuhara, Nobunori Okui and Kenichiroh Koshika

World Electr. Veh. J. 2015, 7(3), 468-474; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj7030468 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1167

Abstract

The transport sector in Japan emits a large amount of CO2. Passenger vehicles’ and trucks’ emissions are the largest part of the emission in the transport sector. Electrified vehicles are expected to be key technologies for reducing CO2 emissions. Using electric propulsion systems, [...] Read more.

The transport sector in Japan emits a large amount of CO2. Passenger vehicles’ and trucks’ emissions are the largest part of the emission in the transport sector. Electrified vehicles are expected to be key technologies for reducing CO2 emissions. Using electric propulsion systems, such as hybrid system, the efficiency of vehicles for the propulsion can be improved. The kinetic energy of vehicles can be recycled by regeneration and the energy can be used for the following accelerations. As the consequent, the CO2 emissions will be reduced in comparison with conventional vehicles. This study focuses on the improvement of drive energy and investigates the impact of electric components in hybrid systems on CO2 emission reductions. Electric components in a hybrid vehicle system enable electric propulsion and contribute to reducing fuel consumptions. At the same time, such electric components contain materials of which the production consumes a large amount of energy. To estimate the CO2 reduction effect of hybrid electric vehicles, life cycle assessments are important. In this paper, the CO2 emissions in the production phase of an electric component are estimated and compared with the emissions of a hybrid electric vehicle in usage phase. Full article

721 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Increasing The Environmental Potential Of Electric Vehicles And Renewable Energies With Grid Attached Energy Storage

by Luis Oliveira, Surendraprabu Rangaraju, Maarten Messagie and Joeri Van Mierlo

World Electr. Veh. J. 2015, 7(3), 459-467; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj7030459 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1064

Abstract

The environmental performance of electrical vehicles is directly tied to the electricity mix that is used during the charging process. Nowadays, with a steady increase of renewable electricity being introduced, its usage is not always optimal. Alongside, its intermittent nature makes wind and [...] Read more.

The environmental performance of electrical vehicles is directly tied to the electricity mix that is used during the charging process. Nowadays, with a steady increase of renewable electricity being introduced, its usage is not always optimal. Alongside, its intermittent nature makes wind and solar not suitable for applications such as EV charging. Using a life cycle assessment methodology we analyze the impacts of the construction, usage and disposal/end of life of each of the studied systems. Pumped hydro and compressed air storage are studied as mechanical storage and advanced lead acid, sodium sulfur, lithium-ion and nickel-sodium-chloride batteries are addressed as electrochemical storage systems. Hydrogen production from electrolysis and subsequent usage in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell is also analyzed. The functional unit is one kWh of energy delivered back to the grid/vehicle, from the storage system. The environmental impacts assessed are climate change, human toxicity, particulate matter formation, and fossil resource depletion. Different energy mixes are used in order to mimic scenarios where the environmental applicability of the technologies is put to the test. Results indicate that the performance of the storage systems is tied to the electricity source used during use stage. Renewable energy sources have lower impacts throughout the use stage of the storage technologies. Regarding infrastructure and end of life, battery systems have higher impacts than mechanical ones because of lower number of cycles and life time energy (9.000 fold). The environmental performance of the use stage of an EV fluctuates as the overall impacts of the supply mixes change with different storage technologies up to 32 fold. Full article

3462 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electric Vehicle Energy Consumption Modelling and Prediction Based on Road Information

by Jiquan Wang, Igo Besselink and Henk Nijmeijer

World Electr. Veh. J. 2015, 7(3), 447-458; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj7030447 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 44 | Viewed by 3203

Abstract

The limited driving range is considered as a significant barrier to the spread of electric vehicles. One effective method to reduce “range anxiety” is to offer accurate information to the driver on the remaining driving range. However, the energy consumption during driving is [...] Read more.

The limited driving range is considered as a significant barrier to the spread of electric vehicles. One effective method to reduce “range anxiety” is to offer accurate information to the driver on the remaining driving range. However, the energy consumption during driving is largely determined by driving behaviour, road topography information and traffic situation, which are hard to predict. This paper will discuss an accurate electric vehicle energy consumption model validated using driving tests on different public roads, and then the model is used to predict future energy consumption based on road information. The energy consumption model includes five parts: the road load model, the powertrain loss model, the regenerative braking model, the auxiliary system model and the battery model. The parameters of these models are obtained through driving tests on public road and dynamometer tests in the TU/e Automotive Engineering Science lab. The results show that the model can calculate the energy consumption with a maximum error of 5% based on driving speed under different circumstances. To predict the future energy consumption, the road information is obtained from OpenStreetMap and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. An offline algorithm is built to predict the energy consumption for a future trip based on the road information. The algorithm gives two energy consumption results: one is for the fastest driving speed; the other one is for the most economic driving speed. The results show that the measured energy consumption results for different types of road driving are all within the algorithm’s prediction scope. Therefore, the offline algorithm can give an accurate energy consumption estimation to the driver before a trip begins. Full article

613 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electric Vehicle Use and Energy Consumption Based on Realworld Electric Vehicle Fleet Trip and Charge Data and Its Impact on Existing EV Research Models

by De Cauwer C., Maarten M., Heyvaert S., Coosemans T. and Van Mierlo J.

World Electr. Veh. J. 2015, 7(3), 436-446; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj7030436 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 2141

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an analysis of real-world trip and charge data from an electric vehicle (EV) fleet, deployed in the Flanders’ Living Labs. The Flanders’ Living Labs are life test environments for electric mobility in which companies and organizations can [...] Read more.

This paper presents the results of an analysis of real-world trip and charge data from an electric vehicle (EV) fleet, deployed in the Flanders’ Living Labs. The Flanders’ Living Labs are life test environments for electric mobility in which companies and organizations can test innovative technologies, products, services and concept and consists of 5 EV platforms, each differing in technology, scope, size and usage [1]. These platforms have produced a large amount of data on numerous topics in the field of electric mobility. This paper focuses on available trip and charge data to analyze user behavior and EV energy consumption. It presents descriptive statistics of trips and charges, as well as EV energy consumption. By obtaining these results from real-world data on electrical vehicles, the authors are able to update statistical figures of fleet use and energy consumption, specifically for electric vehicles. Using specific electric vehicle figures has consequences on the results of (calculation) models of other research branches in electric mobility like total cost of ownership (TCO), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), etc. The potential effect of these real-world data on these models is investigated and recommendations regarding the use of these data are formulated. Full article

743 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Preliminary Modular Design for Electric Personal Mobility with Design-Engineering Collaboration

by Hyunjune Yim and Keun Lee

World Electr. Veh. J. 2015, 7(3), 426-435; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj7030426 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 968

Abstract

Electrically powered personal mobility is expected to emerge as a new mode of transportation, in response to impending socioeconomic issues such as urbanization, global climate changes, demographic changes, and increasing number of single-person households. Yet, in the transition, the market for each usage [...] Read more.

Electrically powered personal mobility is expected to emerge as a new mode of transportation, in response to impending socioeconomic issues such as urbanization, global climate changes, demographic changes, and increasing number of single-person households. Yet, in the transition, the market for each usage of personal mobility such as passenger transportation, delivery of goods, assisting the less abled, or pastime recreation is not big enough for mass production of each model. This may preclude most enterprises from entering the market. The paper presents a prospective, and realistic solution: modular design to produce a number of variant models based on a common platform, and further modularization of the platform itself, to achieve a high degree of the economies of size. It is shown that using this extended modular design strategy, threewheeled vehicles with two front wheels or those with two rear wheels, for example, can be developed based on a common mid-portion of the platform. Such extensive modular design is relatively easy for electric personal mobility because of its small number of components, simple architecture, and easily separable groups of components. Furthermore, the paper illustrates the collaborative roles of industrial designers (ID) and engineering designers (ED) in each step of the preliminary design process adopted here. Personal mobility designs developed in this work demonstrate the importance of such collaborative efforts; for example, engineering design for dynamic stability and package layout design affect each other, so clear communication and compromise between ID and ED is crucial. Overall, the paper sheds light on a prospective direction for electric personal mobility to become one of the major mobility means in the near future. Full article

961 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Rectification Method for a High Level ac Voltage Converting to a Low Level dc Voltage: Example of Scooters Idling Stop System

by Pin-Yung Chen, Rongshun Chen, Yung-Chen Wang and Hsieh-Tai Su

World Electr. Veh. J. 2015, 7(3), 420-425; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj7030420 - 25 Sep 2015

Viewed by 845

Abstract

This paper proposed a novel rectification method for a high-level ac voltage convert to a low-level dc voltage, in which the Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) Matlab/Simulink model in generation mode has been established in order to analyze the energy characteristics of PMSM [...] Read more.

This paper proposed a novel rectification method for a high-level ac voltage convert to a low-level dc voltage, in which the Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) Matlab/Simulink model in generation mode has been established in order to analyze the energy characteristics of PMSM operating in scooters at full drive speed. From the simulation results, the terminal voltage and line current in load-side have a wide convert rate when the internal resistance of battery is a great value. In design, the gate driver signals can be generated, referring to the virtual hall signals, to chop the different back Electromotive Force (back-EMF). Then, the ac voltages of back-EMF can be rectified to the dc voltage by Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOSFETs) at the same time. Finally, the proposed method has been implemented in scooters idling stop system successfully, and a safe low level dc voltage always can be obtained to charge battery immediately (in general 12V) no matter what a variable speed in scooters. Full article

1160 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Laboratory Alignment Procedure for Improving Reproducibility of Tyre Wet Grip Measurement

by Kwangki Jeon, Yongho Yoo, Jinwoo Lee, Dohyun Jung, Seolhee Lim and Seongwoo Park

World Electr. Veh. J. 2015, 7(3), 414-419; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj7030414 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1024 | Retraction

Abstract

Korea and EU governments are running the tyrelabelling system from 2012.All tyres sold in Korea have to carry a label displaying information about two performancecriteriasuch as rolling resistance and wet grip.The rolling resistance of tyres determines their fuel efficiency gradingand the wet grip [...] Read more.

Korea and EU governments are running the tyrelabelling system from 2012.All tyres sold in Korea have to carry a label displaying information about two performancecriteriasuch as rolling resistance and wet grip.The rolling resistance of tyres determines their fuel efficiency gradingand the wet grip of tyres determines their braking safety grading. Measurement of rolling resistance and wet gripmust be reproducible; tests on the same tyres in different laboratories must produce the same results in order to ensure a fair comparison between tyres from different suppliers. In addition, a good reproducibility of testing results prevents market surveillance authorities from obtaining different results from those of the suppliers when testing the same tyres. The laboratory alignment procedure of rolling resistance was developed and published as an EU Commission Regulation No. 1235 in 2011. But the laboratory alignment procedure of wet grip has not developed yet. So there are a lot of differences of wet grip test results among the test laboratories in the world. The proposed new procedure for the alignment of test laboratories with regard to the measurement of tyre wet gripcanimprove the reproducibility of the wet grip testing results. The proposed wet grip laboratory alignment procedure wasverified through five laboratory alignment tests between KATECH and five test laboratoriesin the world. Full article

584 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Air Conditioning System Sizing for Pure Electric Vehicle

by Bongha Song, Jiwon Kwon and Yongsuk Kim

World Electr. Veh. J. 2015, 7(3), 407-413; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj7030407 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1442

Abstract

Emission standards have grown increasingly stricter, consequently triggering greater interest in issues surrounding environmental pollution. The customer needs for green car without toxic exhaust gas has also become natural and it is represented by pure EV (Electric Vehicle). However, the driving range of [...] Read more.

Emission standards have grown increasingly stricter, consequently triggering greater interest in issues surrounding environmental pollution. The customer needs for green car without toxic exhaust gas has also become natural and it is represented by pure EV (Electric Vehicle). However, the driving range of EV suffers from A/C (Air Conditioning) for occupant comfort especially in very hot or cold weather. Therefore, the sizing of A/C system is more important than the case of conventional internal combustion engine vehicle. Specifically, EV consumes electric power of battery pack in order to control the comfortability of passenger compartment due to not only the absence of engine heat rejection for interior heating, but no working power of compressor from engine for interior cooling. Therefore, energy consumption for cabin cooling/heating must be optimized for the energy efficiency of EV. In this paper, we concentrate on the refrigerating system sizing because indoor air temperature in hot weather is more sensitive to passenger’s thermal comfort. Full article

1118 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Economic Assessment of Different Air-conditioning and Heating Systems for Electric City Buses Based on Comprehensive Energetic Simulations

by Dietmar Göhlich, Tu-Anh Ly, Alexander Kunith and Dominic Jefferies

World Electr. Veh. J. 2015, 7(3), 398-406; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj7030398 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 1802

Abstract

The air-conditioning and heating of the passenger cabin in an electric bus leads to a significant increase of the auxiliaries’ energy consumption. Due to limited battery capacity, the daily operating range of electric buses depends considerably on the ambient climate. In particular, heating [...] Read more.

The air-conditioning and heating of the passenger cabin in an electric bus leads to a significant increase of the auxiliaries’ energy consumption. Due to limited battery capacity, the daily operating range of electric buses depends considerably on the ambient climate. In particular, heating is an energy-intensive process since no waste heat from the IC engine is available. Energetic simulations show drastic range reductions when the interior is heated by an electric resistance heater. In contrast, the range reduction can be limited noticeably if a heat pump is utilised. Therefore, the selection of heating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems has a significant impact not only on the range but also on the operating costs of an electric vehicle. The aim of this study is to conduct a cost analysis for different HVAC systems of an electric city bus. The economic assessment is based on comprehensive energy consumption simulation and a life-cycle costing approach considering all expenses of the operation period. The examination reveals that the heat pump systems feature significant energy savings compared to conventional HVAC systems. However, over a life span of twelve years, the current high acquisition cost of a heat pump system is not compensated when only considering direct cost. Full article

454 KiB

Open AccessArticle

EV Motor Controller Target Cooling by Using Micro Thermoelectric Cooler

by Frank Kou-Tzeng Lin, Po-Hua Chang, Chih-Yu Hwang, Min-Chuan Wu and Yi-Shin Chen

World Electr. Veh. J. 2015, 7(3), 390-397; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj7030390 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1303

Abstract

The motor controller is an important component in electric vehicle. Controller always generates heat and needs cooling as electric vehicle driving. Micro thermoelectric cooler (μTEC) with many advantages becomes a potential cooling device for controller recently. This study uses the commercial software ANSYS [...] Read more.

The motor controller is an important component in electric vehicle. Controller always generates heat and needs cooling as electric vehicle driving. Micro thermoelectric cooler (μTEC) with many advantages becomes a potential cooling device for controller recently. This study uses the commercial software ANSYS workbench 14.5 to investigate the influence of the activated number and located position of μTEC on controller chip cooling. The following simulation results are obtained: (1) μTEC activating may assist cooling between 0 second and 60 seconds. The cooling capability enhancement is pronounced as the number of activated μTEC increased. (2) μTEC activating may not assist cooling between 60 seconds and 156 seconds because the energy on the hot side of μTEC is unable to be removed effectively. “All μTEC open” method gives the poorest cooling performance in this region. Full article

1232 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Testing Methodology of Vehicle Pedestrian Notification Systems

by Ian M. Whittal, Norm Meyer and Roland Jonasch

World Electr. Veh. J. 2015, 7(3), 380-389; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj7030380 - 25 Sep 2015

Viewed by 1324

Abstract

Transport Canada’s ecoTECHNOLOGY for Vehicles Program tests and evaluates the safety and environmental performance of advanced vehicle technologies. One area of investigation, in collaboration with Transport Canada's Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Regulations Group, is audible alert systems for electric vehicles. BEVs and [...] Read more.

Transport Canada’s ecoTECHNOLOGY for Vehicles Program tests and evaluates the safety and environmental performance of advanced vehicle technologies. One area of investigation, in collaboration with Transport Canada's Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Regulations Group, is audible alert systems for electric vehicles. BEVs and HEVs can be significantly quieter than conventional vehicles at low speeds. The inclusion of sound alert systems that emit a detectable minimum sound is currently being studied as one option to enhance pedestrian safety. This paper will provide an overview of TC’s testing to measure/assess the noise emissions from BEVs, HEVs and conventional vehicles, and various manufacturers’ noise emissions systems for HEVs / BEVs. Full article

903 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Promotion Strategy of Low-Speed Electric Trucks for Wholesale Markets in Taiwan

by Kao-Hone Chu and Tien-Ho Gau

World Electr. Veh. J. 2015, 7(3), 371-379; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj7030371 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 885

Abstract

Xiluo produce market is the largest wholesale market which supplies one-third fruit and vegetable demand in Taiwan. However, each day more than 800 diesel-powered tricycles running at the market result in serious air and noise pollution. In order to solve the pollution problem, [...] Read more.

Xiluo produce market is the largest wholesale market which supplies one-third fruit and vegetable demand in Taiwan. However, each day more than 800 diesel-powered tricycles running at the market result in serious air and noise pollution. In order to solve the pollution problem, since 2010, the Environment Protection Administration (EPA) has implemented a plan to replace the diesel-powered tricycles with electric trucks. Besides, EPA also integrates efforts with local manufactures to develop appropriate electric trucks which can accommodate the requirements of usage. On July 3, 2013, EPA further announced a subsidization program, namely "the Regulations Covering Subsidies for Electric Produce Transporters at Xiluo Produce Market". According to the program, the subsidy covers the purchasing cost of electric trucks (excluding battery) and rental fees of the power batteries. At the same time, a battery management operator will be selected to provide service of maintaining battery. In addition, EPA drew up the verification specification as the vehicles' testing standard to ensure the function and safety of the electric trucks. The target is to eliminate all diesel-powered tricycles out of the Xiluo produce market before 2018 and the air quality improvement is in line with Taiwan's indoor air quality standards. Taiwan's government hopes to electrify all diesel vehicles currently in the other similar wholesale markets basing on the experience of promotion, so as to build clean trading environment for all wholesale markets in the future. This paper will discuss this vehicle electrification case study in detail and share the experience. Full article

349 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Regenerative Braking Effect to Improve Fuel Economy for E-REV Bus Based on Simulation

by Jongdai Choi, Jongryeol Jeong, Yeong-il Park and Suk Won Cha

World Electr. Veh. J. 2015, 7(3), 366-370; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj7030366 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1369

Abstract

Emission regulations are strict globally and oil price goes up continuously. There are many researches for eco-friendly vehicle to solve these problems. Among them, extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV) utilizes electric energy directly and can drive extended range by generating additional energy. It has [...] Read more.

Emission regulations are strict globally and oil price goes up continuously. There are many researches for eco-friendly vehicle to solve these problems. Among them, extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV) utilizes electric energy directly and can drive extended range by generating additional energy. It has characteristics of both an electric vehicle (EV) and hybrid electric vehicle (HEV). According to state of charge (SOC) for battery, E-REV can drive either EV mode or HEV mode. In this study, effect of regenerative braking is analysed to improve fuel economy for the E-REV bus when vehicle drives as EV mode. In advance, sizing of components is conducted to develop forward simulator for calculating fuel economy. The forward simulator is developed using Matlab/Simulink. Considering performance for battery, limited regenerative braking is applied in the forward simulator and the effect of regenerative braking is analysed when driving cycles are determined. And then effect of coast driving is analysed by comparing to constant speed driving. Effect of regenerative braking when vehicle is coasting is verified and this result can be utilized to develop control logic for regenerative braking in further research. Full article

97 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Feasibility of Electric Buses in Public Transport

by Olli Vilppo and Joni Markkula

World Electr. Veh. J. 2015, 7(3), 357-365; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj7030357 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 4828

Abstract

This study examines the economic feasibility of electric buses in a mid-sized city, where public transport is currently organized with buses only. The difference in lifetime cost of electric buses and diesel buses was calculated with the chosen parameters that were selected after [...] Read more.

This study examines the economic feasibility of electric buses in a mid-sized city, where public transport is currently organized with buses only. The difference in lifetime cost of electric buses and diesel buses was calculated with the chosen parameters that were selected after careful background analysis. A viable business case can be created when the battery and the charging infrastructure are selected shrewdly. The electricity is much cheaper fuel than diesel but with the current battery technologies and battery prices the significant cost from operating an e-bus comes from the wear of the battery. Two types of Li-ion batteries were compared, LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) and LTO (Lithium Titanate). Also different conductive opportunity charging strategies were examined: 1. Charging at the depot. 2. Charging at the end stop(s). 3. Charging at the line stops. The round trip line length assessed was 20 km. Calculations show that the LTO buses and a fast charger at the end stop complemented with low power overnight chargers at the depot is the best investment combination based on the given assumptions. The 200 kW charging power is sufficient to ensure the charging in the normal end stop breaks. Due to a longer cycle life the wear cost per km was lower for LTO than for LFP. LTO is also better adapted for fast charging. The battery size has to be sufficient compared to the required driving range during peak consumption, to the charging current and to the performance requirements of the e-bus. Oversizing the battery has some positive effects (improved cycle life, less heating and better flexibility) but the negative effects were estimated to be more significant (higher investment cost, increased weight and space requirement). Full article

425 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development and Performance Evaluation of Advanced Electric Bus Transportation System

by Kenichiro Eda, Ryutaro Kanaga, Weihsiang Yang, Toshio Hirota, Yushi Kamiya and Yasuhiro Daisho

World Electr. Veh. J. 2015, 7(3), 349-356; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj7030349 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1041

Abstract

Electric buses have superior environmental performance because they emit no CO2 and other exhaust gases while driving. However, in terms of more popularization of electric buses, it is essential to improve battery performance and realize user-friendliness of charging. To resolve these issues, a [...] Read more.

Electric buses have superior environmental performance because they emit no CO2 and other exhaust gases while driving. However, in terms of more popularization of electric buses, it is essential to improve battery performance and realize user-friendliness of charging. To resolve these issues, a concept “short range running and frequent charging” was formulated. Under this approach, the authors have studied methods of greatly reducing the amount of large, heavy, and expensive battery. Research on non-contact inductive power supply (IPS) system has also been conducted as a way of improving charging convenience. A longterm operation test of electric buses was performed in Nagano prefecture as part of a project organized by the Japan Ministry of the Environment from 2011 to 2014. For this project the short-range frequentcharging type electric buses, “Waseda Electric Buses (WEBs)” were developed and tested on public roads to make clear the environmental performance and energy costs. WEB-3, one of the test vehicles, was driven for 41,724 km without any major problems and had advantages to reduce 28 - 42 % of CO2 emissions and 57 – 64 % of energy costs, compared to conventional diesel buses. And it was estimated on Matlab simulation model that total energy consumption could be reduced by 11 % with vehicle weight reduction, modifications of drivetrain and other components. Full article

590 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of a New Concept Electric Vehicle for Last Mile Transportations

by L. Andaloro, G. Napoli, F. Sergi, S. Micari, G. Agnello and V. Antonucci

World Electr. Veh. J. 2015, 7(3), 342-348; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj7030342 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 1807

Abstract

Within European cities, where 68% of the EU population lives using 70% of the energy, an integrated and sustainable urban approach is needed. In order to meet the increasingly complex challenges of urban areas new, efficient, and user-friendly technologies and services, in particular [...] Read more.

Within European cities, where 68% of the EU population lives using 70% of the energy, an integrated and sustainable urban approach is needed. In order to meet the increasingly complex challenges of urban areas new, efficient, and user-friendly technologies and services, in particular in areas of energy, transport, and ICT are required. In the transport sector electric urban mobility and synergy between different transport systems (ITS) and infrastructures must be supported strongly in order to improve life conditions of citizens in terms of i) emissions, ii) services, iii) traffic congestion (an ambitious challenge is reduction of journey times). With the aim of improving the city logistic more efficient peopletransport and freight-distribution systems have to be used, so electro-mobility for transport in the “last mile” must be supported. In the i-NEXT (Innovation for greeN Energy and eXchange in Transportation) project, in which CNR ITAE is directly involved as coordinator, activities are addressed to implementation of new concept modular electric vehicles having different upper-bodies able to be used both for people (public transport) and freight in urban areas. The project aims to develop a not commercial vehicle characterized by new design in which the challenge is to reach the lowest ratio between total weight and load capacity (europallet for freight and seats for people). Other important aspects are to define specific mission of use, range of autonomy, recharge times and cost in terms of batteries and recharge systems technologies. In conclusion synergy of electro-mobility with renewable energy plants and smart grids is essential for sustainability of smart city concept. Full article

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World Electr. Veh. J., Volume 7, Issue 3 (September 2015) – 17 articles , Pages 342-488

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