Light-Duty Vehicle Technologies and Fuels

Advanced technologies and alternative fuels are being developed to improve energy use and emissions performance of light-duty vehicles. Argonne has evaluated many of these technologies and fuels.

For example, Argonne researchers have assessed the incremental capital needs and fuel-cycle energy and emission effects of using each of 11 different fuels in vehicles with tripled fuel economy. Findings indicate that investments in new fuel production and distribution facilities could be relatively modest for alternative fuels that are similar to conventional fuels (such as diesel or reformulated gasoline). In contrast, fuels that have little established production and distribution infrastructure tend to require much larger capital investments. These fuels, however, provide greater energy and environmental benefits.

Argonne researchers have also used the ADVISOR model, developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, to study hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) performance. The model has been configured to run as a series or parallel HEV and as a conventional vehicle for comparison. Models of individual components are input to the ADVISOR model and used to calculate fuel economy and emissions. Accurate data on these components are difficult to obtain, so results from Argonne's Advanced Powertrain Research Facility (APRF) will be used to update the model. Results from tests on the APRF will be compared with simulation results to validate the ADVISOR model.

Argonne has also focused on the advantages of the use of alternative fuels, either neat or in blends, to reduce various air pollutants. Researchers have evaluated the first cost and life-cycle costs as well as the total-energy-cycle emissions and energy use of alternative-fuel light-duty vehicles.