Electric powertrains : opportunities and challenges in the US light-duty vehicle fleet

Managing impending environmental and energy challenges in the transport sector requires a dramatic reduction in both the petroleum consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of in-use vehicles. This study quantifies the potential of electric and hybrid-electric powertrains, such as gasoline hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs), and battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), to offer such reductions. The evolution of key enabling technologies was evaluated over a 30 year time horizon. These results were integrated with software simulations to model vehicle performance and tank-to-wheel energy consumption; the technology evaluation was also used to estimate costs. Well-to-wheel energy and GHG emissions of future vehicle technologies were estimated by integrating the vehicle technology evaluation with assessments of different fuel pathways. While electric powertrains can reduce or eliminate the transport sector's reliance on petroleum, their GHG and energy reduction potential are constrained by continued reliance on fossil-fuels for producing electricity and hydrogen. In addition, constraints on growth of new vehicle technologies and slow rates of fleet turnover imply that these technologies take decades to effect meaningful change.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Kromer, Matthew A

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• John Heywood.

• Technology and Policy Program.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/40372

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/40372