Abstract
Various technologies to reduce emissions from the transportation sector have emerged in the past decades, including biofuels and electric vehicles. Electrification is vital to decarbonization, but it is insufficient alone and may not apply to all transportation sectors. There is considerable interest in biofuels to complement electrification in decarbonizing transportation. In this study, we evaluate the extent to which biomass can contribute to the decarbonization of the transportation sector as electrification of the light-duty fleet increases. Using two biomass availability scenarios established at two different price points (≤$40 per dry ton and ≤$60 per dry ton), the study examines how electrification and biomass resources can be used to meet near-term societal transportation needs when biomass use is prioritized towards different transportation sectors. We consider the transportation sector as a whole, including the light-duty, heavy-duty, marine, and aviation sectors. The results show that biofuels could fulfill about 27% of energy demand across the heavy-duty, aviation, and marine sector at ≤$40 per dry ton and more than 50% at ≤$60 per dry ton by 2050, while electrification could be the primary means of decarbonizing light-duty vehicles. While in 2050 transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions could be 26% lower than in the baseline case with extensive electrification of the light-duty sector, this percentage could be increased to 37% and 52% at ≤$40 per dry ton and ≤$60 per dry ton, respectively, with increased market penetration of biofuels in the other transportation sectors.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 721-735 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Sustainable Energy and Fuels |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 7 2022 |
Funding
The research reported in this paper was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO), through the DOE Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines Consortium. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support and guidance of Alicia Lindauer at BETO, Kevin Stork at VTO, and the Co-Optima Leadership Team. This work was supported by DOE contract DE-AC02-06CH11357 at Argonne National Laboratory. Funding was provided by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office. The views expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the views of the DOE or the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this work, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- Fuel Technology
- Energy Engineering and Power Technology
