Interdisciplinary Research - Energy Categories

• Hydrogen - Expanding upon the research from the Hydrogen Pathways Program, we are exploring new areas such as hydrogen/electricity systems, regional transition case studies, understanding the impact of alternative policies, and enhancing key hydrogen pathways models for infrastructure development strategies. Additional work focuses on the interaction between hydrogen and existing infrastructure, such as electricity and natural gas.

• Biofuels - This category builds upon UC Davis’s current work within the California Biomass Collaborative and the considerable agricultural and biological expertise of the university.  The biofuels track includes analysis of various biorefinery production systems, infrastructure strategies, environmental & land-use impacts, & vehicle analysis. Policy and business strategies related to production and distribution of biofuels are also evaluated.

• Electricity - Production methods, total grid capacity, and time-of-day charging impacts on the utility sector are studied in this research area. Vehicle-to-grid recharging methods and policies are evaluated and optimized, and research is conducted on consumer behavior and preferences for electric drive attributes, including all-electric range and charging time. This research area has a strong collaboration with the UC Davis Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle Research Center.

• Fossil Fuels - This research category includes both the “business as usual” reference case, where petroleum-based fuels continue to dominate transportation energy, and the evolution of fuels produced from other fossil fuel resources, including tar sands, oil shale, and coal with carbon sequestration.  Expanded use of diesel fuel is also studied. Policies and business strategies are investigated with respect to fossil fuel research strategy, economic impacts, environmental impacts, and corporate strategic behavior.

_______________________________________________________________

Cross-Comparison Research - Subject Areas

• Consumer Demand and Behavior - In this subject, research is aimed at providing meaningful insights into differing (across fuel pathways) and changing (over time) citizen/consumer response to different ways of fueling mobility. Consumer perceptions of current transportation issues, such as fuel economy, “green” vehicles, and future trends are analyzed. A variety of investigations into the forces driving markets for alternatively fueled vehicles—such as costs, innovation, and consumer behavior—are being studied in the Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways initiative.

• Infrastructure System Analysis - The goal of this research is to develop a detailed understanding of production facilities and infrastructure at different scales for biofuels, electricity, hydrogen, conventional, and unconventional liquid fuels using tools and models being developed including geographical information systems (GIS), mathematical programming tools, and engineering economic models for infrastructure components. This research also includes an assessment of key inputs such as water, energy resources, electricity, and land.

• Energy, Environment, and Cost Analysis - Considerable research effort has been devoted to the analysis of energy cycle emissions of hydrogen and alternative fuels for use in transportation. In this research program, previous studies of lifecycle emissions and energy use are compared and differences explicitly specified. Energy use and emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases are analyzed for each alternative fuel pathway. This research features the incorporation of alternative fuel vehicles into the current Advanced Vehicle Cost and Energy Use model (AVCEM) and Lifecycle Emissions Models (LEM), as well as the Social Cost Calculator (SCC).

• Policy and Business Strategy - Policy and Business Strategy researchers are developing an understanding of the role of the policy process on the potential transition to an alternative fuel-based transportation system. The research contains a number of projects focused on: the policy process surrounding alternative fuels; evaluation of policy alternatives and their likely implications for the transition; and the development of business strategies for an alternative fuel based economy. Researchers are employing a variety of tools to assess these complex issues including policy development frameworks, microeconomic theory and modeling.

• Vehicle Technology Evaluation - This research centers on developing models of the driveline components and simulation of advanced vehicle operation on appropriate driving cycles. Research also assesses the effects of fuel requirements and availability on advanced vehicle development across the different fueling methods studied in the STEPS Program. Mathematical modeling tools allow researchers to make cross comparisons between conventional and alternative fueled vehicles in order to assess performance, fuel economy, and emissions production.

• Integrative Scenarios - The objective of this research is to incorporate quantitative results from a range of STEPS projects to develop integrated, self-consistent and insightful scenarios of possible transportation futures.  The quantitative models applied within this research will vary in complexity, but they are likely to be of two types: bottom-up or top-down.  The bottom-up VISION model (from Argonne National Lab) is currently being applied to evaluate the introduction of AFVs Nationally and in California.  A second potential bottom-up model is the MARKAL model. As the STEPS Program evolves, a top-down or economic model may also be incorporated to support scenario development (such as the NEMS, MINICAM, BEAR or AMIGA models, or a Systems Dynamics model such as HyDIVE).