While there is considerable interest in alternative fuels among policy makers, automobile manufacturers and fuel providers, substantial economic and technical challenges remain. The adoption of any alternative fuel requires changes throughout the supply chain. Even a liquid fuel such as ethanol that is compatible with current infrastructure can induce dramatic changes, so proper accounting of infrastructure requirements is critical to a complete analysis of material flows and environmental impacts and for a transition to sustainable infrastructure. While much existingresearch address processes and technology for producing alternative fuels, most do not account for the necessary changes in infrastructure. The project proposes to focus our work upon the infrastructure requirements and best technologies for a future of sustainable alternative fuels and to explore different infrastructure options by creating scenarios for each alternative fuel/light duty vehicle option of interest.
The project uses the concept of industrial ecology as our system-wide approach to analyzing the body of issues related to material flows. The project will assess the entire life cycle of various infrastructure components, alternative fuels and vehicle options using a hybrid approach combining process and product specific models coupled with a national economic-input-output life-cycle assessment model developed at Carnegie Mellon. The degree to which any alternative fuel and/or propulsion system is adopted for light-duty vehicles in the United States will depend critically on how well the resulting attributes satisfy preferences in the marketplace. The project will use Life Cycle based analyses in conjunction with consumer choice models of heterogeneous demand with engineering simulations of attainable vehicle attributes to predict market acceptance and likely firm response for alternative fuels and vehicles under several regulatory incentives, technology progress, and infrastructural scenarios. Results from this work will suggest the most promising alternatives based on multifaceted criteria considering environmental, social, and economic issues.
Broader Impacts of the Proposed Research and Integrated Education Program: The project plans a series of educational tasks that are integrated with our research activities. Diverse and talented graduate and undergraduate students will be recruited. It will integrate research results into a secondary school apprentice program, into university courses and into educational modules for use elsewhere. It will use the Internet as a mechanism to disseminate educational materials. More broadly, sustainable energy and infrastructure are critical needs for the United States and for the world. The project states that the world cannot continue to assume that inexpensive petroleum will be available for our transportation needs. Society needs to start on a trajectory that will lead to a sustainable future, both for costs and for overall environmental impact. This project is intended to contribute significantly to that movement with both professional and popular analyses and recommendations.
The project is jointly supported by MUSES funds through the CTS, ECS, and DMR divisions of NSF.
