Search Results (437)

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) play a key role in reducing CO₂ emissions and enabling a climate-neutral economy. However, they suffer from reduced range in cold conditions due to electric cabin heating. Electrically heated thermal energy storage (TES) systems can decouple heat generation from demand, thereby preventing a loss of range. For this purpose, a novel concept based on a directly electrically heated ceramic solid media TES is investigated, aiming to achieve high storage density while enabling both high charging and discharging powers. To assess the feasibility of the proposed TES concept in BEVs, a holistic evaluation of central aspects is conducted, including experimental characterization for material selection, experimental investigations on electrical contacting, and simulations of the electrothermal charging and thermal discharging processes under vehicle-relevant conditions. As a result of the material characterization, a promising material—a silicon carbide-based composite—was identified, which meets the electrothermal requirements under typical household charging conditions and allows reliable operation with silver-metallized electrodes. Design studies with this material show gravimetric energy densities—including thermal insulation demand—exceeding 100 Wh/kg, storage utilization of up to 90%, and fast charging within 25 min, while offering 5 kW at flexible temperature levels for cabin heating during thermal discharging. These results show that the basic prerequisites for such storage systems are met, while further development—particularly in terms of material improvements—remains necessary. Full article

The European Commission, through the REPowerEU plan and the “Fit for 55” package, aims to reduce fossil fuel dependence and greenhouse gas emissions by promoting electric and fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles (EV-FCHEVs). The transition to this mobility model requires energy systems that are able to provide both electricity and hydrogen while reducing the reliance of residential buildings on the national grid. This study analyses a poly-generative (PG) system composed of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) fed by biomethane, a Photovoltaic (PV) system, and a Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyser (PEME), with electric vehicles used as dynamic storage units. The assessment is based on simulation tools developed for the main components and applied to four representative seasonal days in Rende (Italy), considering different daily travel ranges of a 30-vehicle fleet. Results show that the PG system provides about 27 kW of electricity, 14.6 kW of heat, and 3.11 kg of hydrogen in winter, spring, and autumn, and about 26 kW, 14 kW, and 3.11 kg in summer; it fully covers the building’s electrical demand in summer and hot water demand in all seasons. The integration of EV batteries reduces grid dependence, improves renewable self-consumption, and allows for the continuous and efficient operation of both the SOFC and PEME, demonstrating the potential of the proposed system to support the green transition. Full article

In response to the climate crisis, Colombia has committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 through an energy transition strategy that promotes Non-Conventional Renewable Energy Sources (NCRES) and, increasingly, natural gas. Although natural gas is regarded as a transitional fuel with lower carbon intensity than other fossil fuels, existing reserves could be depleted by 2030 if no new discoveries are made. To assess this risk, a System Dynamics model was developed to project supply and demand under alternative transition pathways. The model integrates: (1) GDP, urban population growth, and adoption of clean energy, (2) the behavior of six major consumption sectors, and (3) the role of gas-fired thermal generation relative to NCRES output and hydroelectric availability, influenced by the El Niño river-flow variability. The novelty and contribution of this study lie in the integration of supply and demand within a unified System Dynamics framework, allowing for a holistic understanding of the Colombian natural gas market. The model explicitly incorporates feedback mechanisms such as urbanization, vehicle replacement, and hydropower variability, which are often overlooked in traditional analyses. Through the evaluation of twelve policy scenarios that combine hydrogen, wind, solar, and new gas reserves, the study provides a comprehensive view of potential energy transition pathways. A comparative analysis with official UPME projections highlights both consistencies and divergences in long-term forecasts. Furthermore, the quantification of demand coverage from 2026 to 2033 reveals that while current reserves can satisfy demand until 2026, the expansion of hydrogen, wind, and solar sources could extend full coverage until 2033; however, ensuring long-term sustainability ultimately depends on the discovery and development of new reserves, such as the Sirius-2 well. Full article

The cement industry accounts for approximately 7–8% of global CO₂ emissions, primarily due to energy-intensive clinker production and limestone calcination. With cement demand continuing to rise, particularly in emerging economies, decarbonization has become an urgent global challenge. The objective of this study is to systematically map and synthesize existing evidence on technological pathways, policy measures, and economic barriers to four core decarbonization strategies: clinker substitution, energy efficiency, alternative fuels, as well as carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) in the cement sector, with the goal of identifying practical strategies that can align industry practice with long-term climate goals. A scoping review methodology was adopted, drawing on peer-reviewed journal articles, technical reports, and policy documents to ensure a comprehensive perspective. The results demonstrate that each mitigation pathway is technically feasible but faces substantial real-world constraints. Clinker substitution delivers immediate reduction but is limited by SCM availability/quality, durability qualification, and conservative codes; LC₃ is promising where clay logistics allow. Energy-efficiency measures like waste-heat recovery and advanced controls reduce fuel use but face high capital expenditure, downtime, and diminishing returns in modern plants. Alternative fuels can reduce combustion-related emissions but face challenges of supply chains, technical integration challenges, quality, weak waste-management systems, and regulatory acceptance. CCUS, the most considerable long-term potential, addresses process CO₂ and enables deep reductions, but remains commercially unviable due to current economics, high costs, limited policy support, lack of large-scale deployment, and access to transport and storage. Cross-cutting economic challenges, regulatory gaps, skill shortages, and social resistance including NIMBYism further slow adoption, particularly in low-income regions. This study concludes that a single pathway is insufficient. An integrated portfolio supported by modernized standards, targeted policy incentives, expanded access to SCMs and waste fuels, scaled CCUS investment, and international collaboration is essential to bridge the gap between climate ambition and industrial implementation. Key recommendations include modernizing cement standards to support higher clinker replacement, providing incentives for energy-efficient upgrades, scaling CCUS through joint investment and carbon pricing and expanding access to biomass and waste-derived fuels. Full article

Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) have emerged as a key enabler of more efficient, safer, and environmentally sustainable road traffic by allowing vehicles and infrastructure to exchange information and coordinate behavior. To evaluate their benefits, impact assessment studies are essential. However, most existing studies focus on individual C-ITS services in isolation, overlooking how combined deployments influence outcomes. This study addresses this gap by presenting the first systematic evaluation of individual and joint deployments of Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) and Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory (GLOSA) under diverse conditions. A dual-model simulation framework is applied, combining controlled artificial networks with calibrated real-world corridors in Upper Austria. This allows both statistical testing and validation of plausibility in real-world contexts. Key performance indicators include travel time and CO₂ emissions, evaluated across varying lane configurations, numbers of traffic lights, demand levels, and equipment rates. The results demonstrate that C-ITS effectiveness is strongly context-dependent: while CACC generally provides larger efficiency gains, GLOSA yields consistent emission reductions, and the combined deployment offers conditional synergies but may also diminish benefits at high demand. The study contributes a guideline for selecting service configurations based on site conditions, thereby providing practical recommendations for future C-ITS rollouts. Full article

Solar-electric propulsion offers a practical way to lengthen the endurance of small fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles while removing the noise, emissions, and upkeep that come with combustion engines. This work describes and tests a lightweight platform that couples a flexible thin-film photovoltaic array, a high-efficiency power-tracking controller, and a lithium–polymer battery to an electric brushless drivetrain. A ground-based flight emulator reproducing steady cruise allows continuous logging of the electrical flows between panel, battery, and motor. The results show that the solar subsystem can sustain most of the cruise demand, so the battery is called on only sparingly and is even able to recharge when sunlight is higher than a specific threshold. This balance translates into a clear endurance gain without upsetting the aircraft’s weight or handling. Full article

Bamboo (subfamily Bambusoideae, Poaceae) ranks among the fastest-growing plants on Earth, achieving up to 1 m day⁻¹, significantly faster than other fast growing woody plant such as Eucalyptus (up to 0.6 m day⁻¹) and Populus (up to 0.5 m day⁻¹). Native to Asia, South America and Africa, and cultivated on approximately 37 million ha worldwide, bamboo delivers multifaceted environmental, social, and economic benefits. Historically central to construction, handicrafts, paper and cuisine, bamboo has evolved into a high-value cash crop and green innovation platform. Its rapid renewability allows multiple harvests of young shoots in fast-growing species such as Phyllostachys edulis and Dendrocalamus asper. Its high tensile strength, flexibility, and ecological adaptability make it suitable for applications in bioenergy (bioethanol, biogas, biochar), advanced materials (engineered composites, textiles, activated carbon), and biotechnology (fermentable sugars, prebiotics, biochemicals). Bamboo shoots and leaves provide essential nutrients, antioxidants and bioactive compounds with documented health and pharmaceutical potential. With a global market value exceeding USD 41 billion, bamboo demand continues to grow in response to the call for sustainable materials. Ecologically, bamboo sequesters up to 259 t C ha⁻¹, stabilizes soil, enhances agroforestry systems and enables phytoremediation of degraded lands. Nonetheless, challenges persist, including species- and age-dependent mechanical variability; vulnerability to decay and pests; flammability; lack of standardized harvesting and engineering codes; and environmental impacts of certain processing methods. This review traces bamboo’s trajectory from a traditional resource to a strategic bioresource aligned with Industry 5.0, underscores its role in low-emission, circular bioeconomies and identifies pathways for optimized cultivation, green processing technologies and integration into carbon-credit frameworks. By addressing these challenges through innovation and policy support, bamboo can underpin resilient, human-centric economies and drive sustainable development. Full article

The escalating global demand for primary energy—still predominantly met by conventional carbon-based fuels—has led to increased atmospheric pollution. This underscores the urgent need for alternative energy strategies capable of reducing carbon emissions while meeting global energy requirements. Hydrogen, as a clean combustible fuel, offers a promising alternative to hydrocarbons, producing neither soot, CO₂, nor unburned hydrocarbons. Although nitrogen oxides (NO_x) are the primary combustion by-products, their formation can be mitigated by controlling flame temperature. This study investigates the viability of hydrogen as a clean energy vector by simulating an unsteady, turbulent, non-premixed hydrogen jet flame interacting with an air co-flow. The numerical simulations employ the Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) framework for efficient and accurate prediction of transient flow behavior. Turbulence is modeled using the Shear Stress Transport (SST k-ω) model, which enhances accuracy in high Reynolds number reactive flows. The combustion process is described using a presumed Probability Density Function (PDF) model, allowing for a statistical representation of turbulent mixing and chemical reaction. The simulation results are validated by comparison with experimental temperature and mixture fraction data, demonstrating the reliability and predictive capability of the proposed numerical approach. Full article

China’s carbon emission trading market (CETM), initially covering only power generators, is expanding to include key carbon emitters, like steel and cement enterprises. These high-energy-consuming industries also participate in the electricity market as major consumers. Current research lacks a systemic analysis of multi-market, multi-entity coupling under CETM coverage expansion. This study employs system dynamics to model coupling among steel, cement, thermal power, and renewable energy enterprises within both electricity and carbon markets. Multi-scenario analysis examines key indicator changes as the policy deepens. The results indicate that the impact of CETM coverage expansion unfolds in two phases: initial and deepening stages. Policy deepening will significantly influence key indicators, such as carbon prices and grid feed-in tariffs. Allowance tightening will lead to a pronounced rise in carbon prices, and the carbon trading costs for steel enterprises are significantly higher than those for cement enterprises. The increase in Renewable Portfolio Standards obligations will affect the supply–demand dynamics in the electricity market and contribute to reducing carbon trading costs for high-emission enterprises. All entities should tailor their strategies according to their specific characteristics to proactively adapt to the market changes induced by the CETM coverage expansion. Full article

The increasing demand for transportation has created economic, social, and environmental challenges that sustainable mobility solutions can help address. Electric vehicles (EVs) represent a promising alternative by lowering greenhouse gas emissions and improving energy efficiency. However, EV adoption remains limited due to barriers such as high costs, insufficient charging infrastructure, technological constraints, and low consumer awareness. This study aims to identify and classify the main barriers to EV adoption and propose a prioritization framework to guide decision-makers in resource allocation and policy design. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify barriers to EV adoption, which were grouped into six thematic categories: vehicle-related, battery-related, charging infrastructure, energy supply, personal and behavioral, and governance and policy. A degree of impact (DI) metric was developed to quantify each barrier’s influence, allowing hierarchical classification. The results highlight that inadequate charging infrastructure, high purchase and maintenance costs, limited public knowledge, and long charging times are the most critical issues. The proposed framework will help policymakers, industry leaders, and energy providers focus their efforts on the most impactful barriers. This research supports the global shift toward sustainable mobility and contributes to the literature by introducing a quantitative method for ranking barriers, addressing a gap in previous studies that lacked prioritization. Full article

This study presents a detailed analysis of the energy performance and thermal comfort conditions in four existing school buildings located in Madrid, Spain. Dynamic simulations were conducted using TeKton3D—(iMventa Ingenieros, Málaga, Spain)- an open-source tool based on the EnergyPlus engine—to model four improvement scenarios: (I) current state, (II) envelope retrofitting with ETICS and high-performance glazing, (III) solar control strategies, and (IV) incorporation of mechanical ventilation with heat recovery. Each building was simulated under both current and projected 2050 climate conditions. The case studies were selected to represent different construction periods and urban contexts, including varying levels of exposure to the urban heat island effect. This approach allows the results to reflect the diversity of the existing school building stock and its different vulnerabilities to climate change. The results show that envelope retrofitting substantially reduces heating demand but may increase cooling needs, particularly under warmer future conditions. Solar control strategies effectively mitigate overheating, while mechanical ventilation with heat recovery contributes to improved comfort and overall efficiency. This study highlights the trade-offs between energy savings and indoor environmental quality, underlining the importance of integrated renovation measures. The study provides relevant data for decision-making in climate-resilient building renovation, aligned with EU goals for nearly zero and zero-emission buildings. Full article

This study aimed to optimize the urban public transportation system in Queretaro, Mexico, while meeting passenger demand by using Linear Programming (LP) and Goal Programming (GP) models to reduce redundant routes, minimize fuel consumption and ${\mathrm{CO}}_2$ emissions, and balance costs with service coverage. Operational data from 316 drivers were collected on diesel consumption, working hours, and vehicle availability while incorporating twelve technical, labor, and regulatory constraints. The LP model reduced the number of routes from 148 to 124, achieving daily savings of 13,789 L of diesel, a reduction of 36,816 kg in ${\mathrm{CO}}_2$ emissions, and an economic benefit of USD 17,071.90, equivalent to 13,253 tons of ${\mathrm{CO}}_2$ avoided annually; these results demonstrate LP’s ability to deliver quantifiable improvements in efficiency and sustainability. The GP model integrated multiple and often conflicting objectives, such as maintaining a maximum fuel cost of USD 9312/day for 1944 buses distributed across five zones while ensuring a minimum coverage of 145 routes and 450,000 daily passengers, showing that it is possible to meet service targets with marginal cost overruns (USD 4118.66) when balancing both coverage and budget. The novelty of this paper lies in combining mathematical optimization models with real operational data and simultaneously reporting both economic and environmental impacts. This allows us to offer a replicable and highly interpretable tool with low computational cost for use in medium-sized cities seeking to align mobility planning with sustainability policies and operational efficiency. Full article

The increasing shift towards battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in urban environments raises the question of how real-world traffic conditions affect their energy consumption. While BEVs are expected to reduce local emissions, their total energy demand, particularly in city traffic with with low average speeds, and therefore a higher impact of secondary consumption, remains insufficiently understood. To address this, a simulative framework to analyze the average energy consumption of an all-electric vehicle fleet in a mid-sized city, using Darmstadt, Germany, as a case study, is presented. A validated microscopic traffic simulation is built based on 2024 data and enriched with representative powertrain models for various vehicle classes, including passenger cars, trucks, and buses. The simulation allows the assessment of consumption under different traffic densities and speeds, revealing the substantial influence of secondary consumers and traffic flow on total energy demand. Furthermore, the study compares the $C{O}_2$ emissions of an all-BEV fleet with those of a fully combustion-based fleet. The findings aim to highlight the role of secondary consumers in urban traffic and to identify the potential for energy-saving. Full article

The integration of renewable energy and power-to-gas (P2G) technology into park-level integrated energy systems (PIES) offers a sustainable pathway for low-carbon development. This paper presents a low-carbon economic dispatch model for PIES that incorporates uncertainties in renewable energy generation and load demand. A novel two-stage P2G, replacing traditional devices with electrolysers (EL), methane reactors (MR), and hydrogen fuel cells (HFC), enhances energy efficiency and facilitates the utilisation of captured carbon. Furthermore, adjustable thermoelectric ratios in combined heat and power (CHP) and HFC improve both economic and environmental performance. A ladder-type carbon trading and green certificate trading mechanism is introduced to effectively manage carbon emissions. To address the uncertainties in supply and demand, the study applies information gap decision theory (IGDT) and develops a robust risk-averse model. The results from various operating scenarios reveal the following key findings: (1) the integration of CCT with the two-stage P2G system increases renewable energy consumption and reduces carbon emissions by 5.8%; (2) adjustable thermoelectric ratios in CHP and HFC allow for flexible adjustment of output power in response to load requirements, thereby reducing costs while simultaneously lowering carbon emissions; (3) the incorporation of ladder-type carbon trading and green certificate trading reduces the total cost by 7.8%; (4) in the IGDT-based robust model, there is a positive correlation between total cost, uncertainty degree, and the cost deviation coefficient. The appropriate selection of the cost deviation coefficient is crucial for balancing system economics with the associated risk of uncertainty. Full article

In the context of growing concerns about power disruptions, grid reliability and the need for decarbonization, this study evaluates a broad range of clean backup power systems (BPSs) to replace traditional emergency diesel generators. A scenario-based stochastic optimization framework using actual load profiles and outage probabilities is proposed to assess the most promising options from a pool of 27 technologies. This framework allows a comparison of the cost effectiveness and environmental impact of individual technologies and hybrid BPSs across various scenarios. The results highlight the trade-off between total annual system cost and emissions. Significant emission reductions can be achieved at moderate cost increases but deep decarbonization levels incur higher costs. Primary and secondary batteries are included in optimal clean fuel-based systems across all decarbonization levels, combining cost-effective power delivery and long-term storage benefits. The findings highlight the often-overlooked importance of fuel replacement on both emissions and costs. Among the assessed technologies, ammonia generators and hydrogen fuel cells combined with secondary iron–air batteries emerge as cost-effective solutions for achieving decarbonization goals. To ensure a broad range of applicability, the study outlines the impact of emergency fuel purchases, varying demand patterns and demand response options on the optimal BPS. The research findings are valuable for optimizing the design of clean BPSs to economically meet the needs of many facility types and decarbonization targets. Full article