Passenger vehicle

Gasoline-powered motor vehicles outnumber all other mobile sources combined in the number of vehicles, the amount of energy consumed, and the mass of air pollutants emitted. It is not surprising that they have received the greatest share of attention regarding emission standards and air pollution control systems. Table 25-2 shows the U.S. federal emission control requirements for gasoline-powered passenger vehicles. 

The term mass transit generally refers to passenger vehicles that are common carriers in urban areas, as distinct from intercity travel. The terms public transit or simply transit also are frequently used. The major types of public transit are bus (rubber-tired vehicles), rail (running on tracks), and ferryboat. Within each type there are several subcategories. 

Table 7.21. Fuel consumption of various passenger vehicles (reference vehicle Volkswagen Golf) (IFP, personal communication, 2005 JEC, 2007)...

The Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) in California requires fuel providers to ensure that the mix of fuel they sell to the California market meets, on average, a declining standard for GHG emissions measured in C02-equivalent gram per unit of fuel energy sold. By 2020, the LCFS will produce a 10% reduction in the carbon content of all passenger vehicle fuels sold in California. 

Other sources show lower estimates. For instance, Prognos/EWI (2005) projects the number of passenger vehicles in 2030 in Germany at 48.5 million and of LDV at 2.6 million. 

These values are computed for a conventional mid-size passenger vehicle using the following assumptions ... 

Regulatory search. Commercial vehicles are subject to more pervasive regulation than are private passenger vehicles. A search of a commercial vehicle can occur incident to a stop, to verify compHance with these extended regulations [64]. 

PEM fuel cells are used primarily for transportation applications and some stationary applications. Due to their fast start-up time, low sensitivity to orientation, and favourable power-to-weight ratio, PEM fuel cells are particularly suitable for use in passenger vehicles, such as cars and buses. 

A number of the major automakers have stated their intention to begin selling - or expanding sales of - fuel cell passenger vehicles. Toyota plans to offer about 20 hybrid fuel cell SUVs based on its Highlander platform. Nissan has announced plans to start selling a fuel cell vehicle, and Ford Motor Company said it would offer a fuel cell version of the Focus in low-volume production for small fleet operations. Other FCVs include the CM Opel HydroCen 3, the Hyundai Santa Fe FCEV, and the Nissan Xterra FCV, the DaimlerChrysler Necar 5, and Daihatsu s Move FCV-K-2. 

Since the oxidation of H2 produces water, it should be one of the cleanest possible fuels, and this indeed appears to be the case, with emissions consisting primarily of NO, and very small amounts of VOC and CO from the combustion of some oil in the system. While it is being used in some buses, for example, it has not yet found widespread use due to technical and safety problems encountered on the passenger vehicle scale. 

Stump, F. D K. T. Knapp, and W. D. Ray, Influence of Ethanol-Blended Fuels on the Emissions from Three Pre-1985 Light-Duty Passenger Vehicles, J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc., 46, 1149-1161 (1996). 

W/kg. Road tests with small passenger vehicles have achieved ranges of 100-230 km on a single charge. 

Zinc-air modules for EV application are under development at the Edison company in Italy and by the Electric Fuel Ltd in Israel. In this case, the battery recharge also includes a mechanical step, namely the removal and replacement of the spent zinc electrodes. The actual electrochemical recharging process is carried out in a remote station. The proposed application to passenger vehicles considers the construction of specific stations where the removal and replacement of the spent zinc electrode pack is carried out automatically (Fig. 9.19). Energy and power densities of the order of 200 Wh/kg and 100 W/kg, respectively, and long cyclability, which may provide the car with a 300 km range and a... 

Marisvensson, A Svensson, A.M., Moller-Holst, S. Glockner, R. Maurstad, O. Well-to-wheel study of passenger vehicles in the Norwegian energy system.. Energy September 2006, 32 (4), 437-45. 

NFPA 130-2007 Requirements for Passenger Vehicle Rail Materials... 

As part of its systems analysis, the DOE should map out and evaluate a transition plan consistent with developing the infrastructure and hydrogen resources necessary to support the committee s hydrogen vehicle penetration scenario or another similar demand scenario. The DOE should estimate what levels of investment over time are required—and in which program and project areas—in order to achieve a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from passenger vehicles by midcentury. 

The focus of most of this report and this chapter is on light-duty passenger vehicles, the largest segment of the vehicle market. Stationary power systems to produce electric power from hydrogen may be an important part of a possible future H2 energy system, both in a transition to a hydrogen economy and also in the steady state. The committee did not do an extensive analysis of the future stationary electric power system in the United States and the role that H2 may play, but the section below entitled Stationary Power Utilities and Residential Uses delineates some of the developments and opportunities in fuel cells and turbines for stationary power. 

---