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 Lifetime Emissions Models (LEM), as well as the Social Cost Calculator (SCC).
Research leader: Mark Delucchi
Graduate Student Researchers: Colin Murphy, Yongling Sun
Collaborating Researchers: Alissa Kendall, and Marshall Miller
Recent Publications
- Kammen, Daniel M., Alexander E. Farrell, Richard J. Plevin, Andrew D. Jones, Gregory F. Nemet, Mark A. Delucchi (2008) Energy and Greenhouse Gas Impacts of Biofuels: A Framework for Analysis. Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis, Research Report UCD-ITS-RR-08-04
- Delucchi, Mark A. (2008) The Cost of Protecting Oil in the Persian Gulf . Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis, Research Report UCD-ITS-RR-07-31
Major Project Areas:
LEM Model
The Lifecycle Emissions Model (LEM) estimates energy use, criteria pollutant emissions, and CO2-equivalent greenhouse-gas emissions from a variety of transportation and energy lifecycles. It includes a wide range of modes of passenger and freight transport, electricity generation, heating and cooking, and more. For transport modes, it represents the lifecycle of fuels, vehicles, materials, and infrastructure. It estimates energy use and emissions of all regulated air pollutants plus so-called greenhouse gases. It includes input data for up to 30 countries, for the years 1970 to 2050, and is fully specified for the U. S. Documentation for the LEM is provided on Dr. Delucchi’s web page.
Our goals with this model are to:
- Add charge-sustaining and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles
- Revise and expand treatment of unconventional oil
- Improve treatment of biofuels, and add additional biofuel lifecycles
- Add more complex and comprehensive representations of price effects
AVCEM Model
AVCEM – the Advanced Vehicle Cost and Energy-use Model – is an electric and gasoline vehicle energy-use and lifetime-cost model. AVCEM designs a motor vehicle to meet range and performance requirements specified by the modeler, and then calculates the initial retail cost and total private and social lifetime cost of the designed vehicle. It can be used to investigate the relationship between the lifetime cost -- the total cost of vehicle ownership and operation over the life of the vehicle -- and important parameters in the design and use of the vehicle. Documentation for AVCEM is provided on Dr. Delucchi’s web page.
Our goals with this model are to:
- Improve representation of charge-sustaining and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles
- Update energy use and manufacturing cost parameters for fuel cell vehicles
- Review and revise cost and performance parameters for batteries
- Improve estimates of cost as a function of production volume
- Develop more sophisticated estimates of external cost
SCC Model
The Social-Cost Calculator (SCC) estimates costs for up to five different transportation scenarios for up to six different geographic areas, in the following cost categories: public-sector goods and services, climate change, external costs of oil use, fuel costs, air pollution (including vehicle exhaust, upstream fuel lifecycle, and road dust & particulates), noise, accidents, parking, travel time and congestion. The SCC is described in a report posted on Dr. Delucchi's web page, and most of the research underpinning the SCC is documented in a series of reports on the social cost of motor-vehicle use, also available on Dr. Delucchi's web page.
Our goals with this model are to:
- Update and expand the areas of accidents and external costs of oil use
Structure of "Cross-Comparison" in this research
Energy, Environment, and Cost Analysis research has inherent cross-comparison features in the research objectives. The models themselves are all designed with the ability to compare varying vehicle/fuel pathways in terms of their lifecycle attributes. Major project outputs include studies of specific cross-comparisons between various pathways.
Relevant Posters and Presentations
- Modeling Switchgrass Biomass Production and Associated Greenhouse Gas Emissions - Zhu and Six
- Societal Lifecycle Cost of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles - Sun, Ogden, and Delucchi
Donald Gautier, USGS geologist, presents on petroleum in the arctic