fUel-SAVing trip plannEr (U-SAVE): a product of the JRC PoC Instrument: Final report

Available tools for trip planning mostly rely on travel time and travel distance. Fuel costs, when taken into account, are based on simplified fuel consumption models and are usually independent from vehicle type and technology. Building on the work carried out by the Sustainable Transport Unit of the Joint Research Centre, European Commission, in developing (a.) CO2MPAS, the official tool supporting the WLTP/NEDC Correlation Exercise and allowing the back-translation of a WLTP test to the equivalent NEDC CO2 emission value during the type approval, and (b.) Green Driving, an interactive web-based tool allowing the estimation of fuel costs and CO2 emissions of individual car journeys on the basis of variables such as car segment, engine power, fuel type and driving style, the present project aimed at developing and proving the concept of a routing machine to be used when fuel consumption minimization is considered. Throughout the project a stand-alone off-board trip planner has been developed, the U-SAVE Desktop Version, while a smartphone application, the U-SAVE Navigation Application, is currently under the last development phase, and shall be used once completed as a low cost in-board navigation system. The tool has been extensively validated internally demonstrating both its capability to accurately estimate fuel and energy consumption via alternative trip options, and its capacity to provide a more efficient route when different from the shortest and/or fastest options. An open-access version of the tool is expected to become a reference instrument for private citizens who are concerned about their fuel consumption and a more efficient use of their vehicles, while a premium API-based commercial version of the tool can operate as a viable and scalable business model targeting, among others, established navigation software providers who want to extend their offering by providing an alternative route option to their clients, mainly private companies managing fleets of light-duty vehicles, for whom saving fuel from the daily vehicle operations is of crucial financial importance.JRC.C.4-Sustainable Transpor

From NEDC to WLTP: effect on the type-approval CO2 emissions of light-duty vehicles

The present report summarises the work carried out by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre to estimate the impact of the introduction of the new type approval procedure, the Worldwide Light duty vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP), on the European car fleet CO2 emissions. To this aim, a new method for the calculation of the European light duty vehicle fleet CO2 emissions, combining simulation at individual vehicle level with fleet composition data is adopted. The method builds on the work carried out in the development of CO2MPAS, the tool developed by the Joint Research Centre to allow the implementation of European Regulations 1152 and 1153/2017 (which set the conditions to amend the European CO2 targets for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles due to the introduction of the WLTP in the European vehicle type-approval process). Results show an average WLTP to NEDC CO2 emissions ratio in the range 1.1-1.4 depending on the powertrain and on the NEDC CO2 emissions. In particular the ratio tends to be higher for vehicles with lower NEDC CO2 emissions in all powertrains, the only exception being with the plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). In this case, indeed, the WLTP to NEDC CO2 emissions ratio quickly decreases to values that can be also lower than 1 as the electric range of the vehicle increases.JRC.C.4-Sustainable Transpor

Feasibility study and prototyping of a blockchain-based transport-service pricing and allocation platform

This report summarizes the activity and findings of the JRC Proof of Concept Project Ridechain. The project investigated the applicability and market potential of blockchain technology for asset sharing in the road transport sector. The project comprised two principal activities. The first activity was market research and analysis to support the development of a new service concept and business model for blockchain-powered shared mobility. Specifically, the research resulted in the definition of a novel technology platform that leverages blockchain, cloud services, and in-car technology to enhance trust, streamline coordination and improve information exchange in P2P car sharing ecosystems. The second activity was technology prototyping to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the novel service concept using state of the art blockchain and IoT frameworks. These two activities provided answers to two respective research questions. First, what would be a high-value transport sector market to which a blockchain-powered technology product could offer a high-value solution? Second, how could this technology product be realized?JRC.C.4-Sustainable Transpor

Ανάπτυξη ενός εργαλείου ποσοτικοποίησης των εκπομπών CO2 από την οδική κυκλοφορία με σύνδεση λεπτομερούς προσομοίωσης οχήματος και μακροεργαλείων εκπομπών

CO2 emissions from road transport have an increasing importance on the discussion about climate change. Today several models exist potentially capable of evaluating the effect of technology and policy on the energy performance of a transportation system, though they either lack the accuracy required, or they require a level of detail on their inputs, which is prohibiting for large-scale simulations and/or integration with other models or software, e.g. traffic simulation models, cost calculation components, etc. In this light, the objective of the present thesis is the combination of standard vehicle emission simulation approaches, used in vehicle simulation models, with limited statistical/empirical relationships provided by measurement data, and advanced data analysis and machine learning technics, to provide a robust and reliable, yet flexible and quick, integrated framework for analyzing and evaluating the influence of technology and policy on passenger cars’ fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The integrated simulation-based framework is used mainly to support and assess the effects of the transition from the, up-to-recently used, NEDC-based type approval process, to the newly-defined WLTP, which has taken effect in September 2017. Moreover, the tool is used to evaluate the effect of the newly introduced amendments in the type-approval legislation concerning hybrids and other low emission vehicle segments, and, lastly, to replicate real driving emissions gathered through a Portable Emissions Measurement Systems (PEMS) tests campaign.Οι εκπομπές CO2 από την οδική κυκλοφορία έχουν ολοένα μεγαλύτερη σημασία στη συζήτηση για την κλιματική αλλαγή. Διάφορα μοντέλα και πρακτικές εφαρμόζονται σήμερα για την εκτίμηση της επίδρασης τεχνολογικών και πολιτικών επιλογών στην κατανάλωση καυσίμου επιβατικών οχημάτων και στην ενεργειακή αξιολόγηση συστημάτων μεταφοράς, ωστόσο, αυτά, είτε δεν διαθέτουν την απαιτούμενη ακρίβεια στο τελικό αποτέλεσμα, είτε χρειάζονται ένα επίπεδο λεπτομέρειας στις παραμέτρους εισόδου που απαγορεύει τις προσομοιώσεις σε μεγάλη κλίμακα ή/και τον συνδυασμό με άλλα μοντέλα ή λογισμικά, όπως μοντέλα προσομοίωσης κυκλοφορίας, μοντέλα υπολογισμού κόστους κ.α.. Υπό αυτό το πρίσμα, η παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή στοχεύει στο συνδυασμό προσεγγίσεων προσομοίωσης κατανάλωσης καυσίμου οχημάτων, όπως αυτά χρησιμοποιούνται σε αναλυτικά μοντέλα προσομοίωσης, με εμπειρικές σχέσεις που προκύπτουν από τον συνδυασμό και την ανάλυση δεδομένων μετρήσεων και άλλων διαθέσιμων δεδομένων, σε ένα ολοκληρωμένο, ευέλικτο και ακριβές εργαλείο, το οποίο επιτρέπει την αξιολόγηση της επίπτωσης σύγχρονων τεχνολογιών και πολιτικών επιλογών στην κατανάλωση καυσίμου επιβατικών οχημάτων. Το συγκεκριμένο εργαλείο χρησιμοποιείται κυρίως για την υποστήριξη και την εκτίμηση της επίπτωσης της μετάβασης από το μέχρι πρότινος ισχύον πρωτόκολλο μέτρησης το οποίο εφαρμόζεται στην έγκριση τύπου κατανάλωσης καυσίμου και εκπομπών CO2 επιβατικών οχημάτων στην Ευρώπη, το NEDC, στο νέο, το οποίο αναπτύχθηκε από τα Ηνωμένα Έθνη και ξεκίνησε να εφαρμόζεται στην ευρωπαϊκή νομοθεσία από το Σεπτέμβριο του 2017, το WLTP. Επιπλέον, το εργαλείο εφαρμόζεται για την εκτίμηση της επίπτωσης των αλλαγών της σχετικής νομοθεσίας οι οποίες αφορούν οχήματα χαμηλών εκπομπών (ηλεκτρικά, κ.α.), και, τέλος, για την αναπαραγωγή δεδομένων εκπομπών υπό πραγματικές συνθήκες οδήγησης, τα οποία συλλέχθησαν μέσω φορητών συστημάτων μέτρησης εκπομπών (PEMS)

A simulation based approach for quantifying CO2 emissions of light duty vehicle fleets. A case study on WLTP introduction

This paper presents a new technology-oriented modelling approach for assessing the effect of different technologies and fleet composition on energy consumption/CO2 emissions. The methodology follows a hybrid approach between a statistically founded instantaneous emission model and a complete vehicle-simulation model. It makes use of as limited information as possible referring mainly to already available data sources. It is split into two modules, the sampling module where individual vehicles are defined, each one corresponding to a real vehicle present in the fleet, and the simulation module where each vehicle is run in a predefined mission profile. The vehicle simulation model is based on simple longitudinal dynamics featuring an extended-Willans powertrain simulation module. The fleet “generator” module that selects and assigns vehicle characteristics per vehicle is based on existing databases and the annual CO2 emissions monitoring database new vehicle registrations in the European market. The implementation code is built so that several thousands of simulations are possible in limited time. In this example, the methodology is applied for assessing the introduction of the new Worldwide Harmonized Test (WLTP) protocol in the European light duty vehicle type approval procedure. A representative fleet of approx. 4,000 vehicles, model year 2013-2014, was defined and run over the existing and forth-coming type approval cycles. Results showed good correlation of fleet-wide predicted CO2 emissions against preliminary certification data for year 2014 that were used for validation. Following, the WLTP provisions were introduced and calculations were made with regard to the expected increases in average CO2 emissions of the new registrations with the new protocol.JRC.C.4-Sustainable Transpor

Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of passenger cars over the New Worldwide Harmonized Test Protocol

In 2014 the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) adopted the global technical regulation No. 15 concerning the Worldwide harmonized Light duty Test Procedure (WTLP). Having significantly contributed to its development, the European Commission is now aiming at introducing the new test procedure in the European type-approval legislation for light duty vehicles in order to replace the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) as the certification test. The current paper aims to assess the effect of WLTP introduction on the reported CO2 emissions from passenger cars presently measured under the New European Driving Cycle and the corresponding test protocol. The most important differences between the two testing procedures, apart from the kinematic characteristics of the respective driving cycles, is the determination of the vehicle inertia and driving resistance, the gear shifting sequence, the soak and test temperature and the post-test charge balance correction applied to WLTP. In order to quantify and analyze the effect of these differences in the end value of CO2 emissions, WLTP and NEDC CO2 emission measurements were performed on 20 vehicles, covering almost the whole European market. WLTP CO2 values range from 125.5 to 217.9 g/km, NEDC values range from 105.4 to 213.2 g/km and the ΔCO2 between WLTP and NEDC ranges from 4.7 to 29.2 g/km for the given vehicle sample. The average cold start effect over WLTP was found 6.1 g/km, while for NEDC it was found 12.3 g/km. For a small gasoline and a medium sized diesel passenger car, the different inertia mass and driving resistance is responsible 63% and 81% of the observed ΔCO2 between these two driving cycles respectively, whereas the other parameters (driving profile, gear shifting, test temperature) account for the remaining 37% and 19%.JRC.C.4-Sustainable Transpor

Introducing a New Emissions Certification Procedure for European Light-Duty Vehicles: Monte Carlo Simulation of the Potential Effect on Fleet Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Initiatives to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from light-duty vehicles have been the cornerstone of European policy for curbing greenhouse gas emissions from road transport in past decades. The political approach has shown its effectiveness in recent years. However, the use of an outdated test procedure to measure the progress in reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions jeopardizes these efforts. For this reason, the European Commission is committed to introducing, in the shortest possible time, the new Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP), developed through the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, to reduce the gap between type approval and real-world figures on CO2 emissions. The introduction, however, requires the adoption of the CO2 targets set by the relevant European regulations. The approach selected by the European Commission for dealing with this issue required the development of a technology-oriented vehicle simulation model, CO2MPAS, which has been extensively validated against simulated and real data to demonstrate its capacity to capture the differences between the two certification procedures. In the present study, CO2MPAS is used to analyze the possible effects of the introduction of WLTP in the European vehicle market in terms of reported CO2 emissions. An approach based on Monte Carlo sampling has been adopted because of the lack of detailed vehicle information. The differences in estimated CO2 emissions are compared and discussed. Results indicate the accuracy and robustness of CO2MPAS in reproducing CO2 emissions at the fleet level. The results also indicate an increase in global CO2 emissions from existing passenger cars on the order of 10 g/km.JRC.C.4-Sustainable Transpor

The difference between reported and real-world CO2 emissions: How much improvement can be expected by WLTP introduction?

The monitoring and reporting of CO2 emissions of light duty vehicles in Europe and other major markets is based on the New European Driving Cycle and the accompanying test protocol. This procedure has been proven non-representative of real world vehicle operation, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions leading to a gap between officially reported emissions and the ones experienced during real world operation. This gap is reported to be increasing with time. To address this issue and improve the certification procedure for pollutant emissions of vehicles over real driving, the new Worldwide Harmonized Light duty vehicle Test Protocol was designed. This new test procedure is expected to provide more realistic emission and fuel consumption results. In this paper a first estimate of the certification-reality gap under the present (2015) conditions is attempted and the impact of the new test procedure is investigated. Tests were performed on three real vehicles over the two cycles which allowed the development of representative simulation models. A detailed simulation matrix was subsequently formulated, taking into account the two tests and expected conditions occurring during real world driving. Results show that for 2013-14 model year European passenger cars the difference in certified and actually emitted CO2 emissions for an average European passenger car reaches up to 40 g CO2/km (~32% higher than certification). WLTP introduction is expected to improve the picture, however a shortfall of about 10-15% between official and real world may remain.JRC.C.4-Sustainable Transpor

From lab-to-road & vice-versa: Using a simulation-based approach for predicting real-world CO2 emissions

CO2 emissions of light-duty vehicles are certified over standardised, laboratory-based conditions and reported to the consumers. Such tests reflect specific operating conditions that differ from what an individual driver experiences. Vehicle simulation can bridge the gap and help provide customised, vehicle and trip-specific values. This study investigates the potential of using a simulation-based approach for calculating CO2 emissions over real-world operation, when limited information and test-data are available. The methodology introduced in the European vehicle certification regulation since 2017 is used as a basis. Seven vehicles were tested over multiple on-road trips and in some cases on a chassis dyno. First, the analysis focused on the accuracy of the simulations when only limited information for the vehicle and its components are used. Subsequently, the model was calibrated on test data. The first case presented an error between 1.0% and 4.4% depending on the test, while the standard deviation was 10.0%. When using WLTP for calibration, the average error dropped to 2.9% to 0.2%, and the standard deviation decreased to 2.0%. When calibrating over on-road tests, the average error was 0.7% for the on-road tests and 4.5% for the WLTP.JRC.C.4-Sustainable Transpor

Tools for Customized Consumer Information on Vehicle Energy Consumption and Costs - A European Case Study

The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, in line with the European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility, has launched in 2016 the Green Driving Tool, an interactive web-based tool aiming at estimating fuel costs and CO2 emissions of individual car journeys. In parallel, it has developed U-SAVE, a routing system for fuel-efficient trip planning aiming at fuel consumption minimization and vehicle specific calibration. This paper provides a first assessment of the performance of the two tools in predicting fuel consumption and CO2 emissions over real-world trips. The analysis focused on the accuracy and uncertainty of the two tools when varying the detail of vehicle input data and of the velocity profile used in the calculation. These elements are particularly important in case of future integration of the tools with traffic simulation models where the level of detail regarding the vehicle input or the speed profile may vary. Results show that U-SAVE prediction is positively affected by the detail of vehicle specifications, while is not significantly sensitive to the detail of the velocity profile. Contrary, Green Driving didn’t show any remarkable change when varying both parameters. Overall, U-SAVE demonstrates a good performance in predicting CO2 emissions over on-road tests reaching an average prediction accuracy over an entire test trip of -4.6% and a standard deviation of 5.2%, while Green Driving exhibit higher uncertainty (on average 12%) but lower bias which ranged in the order of 0 to +3% depending on the vehicle and the test trip considered.JRC.C.4-Sustainable Transpor