Entering the future with green mobility

Countries are undertaking various initiatives to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. It must be realised now, more than ever, that a substantial contributor to global warming and greenhouse gas emissions is transport – both public and private. Only when governments can encourage a switch to eco-friendly transportation modes can they possibly be close to meeting the climate change goals.

2019 was the second warmest year on record and the end to the warmest decade ever recorded.  A report by the United Nations    Organisation has claimed that carbon dioxide levels (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions reach a record high every year. This is a significant point of concern as governments’ initiatives worldwide are achieving success; they do not seem sufficient. According to the World Resources Institute’s Climate Watch platform, emissions from transport-related activities accounted for 16 per cent of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2019. This translates to about 8078.45 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions. To realise the Paris Agreement’s goals, countries must recognise the urgency of promoting vehicles run on renewable energy sources. The past decade has witnessed a number of teams of scientists trying to develop newer methods of integrating transportation and renewable energy. Apart from the famous electric vehicles (EVs), research is ongoing to develop fuel cells and biofuel vehicles. This acts as a light at the end of the tunnel with newfound hope that we will soon be able to drive without having to worry about carbon emissions, global warming and climate change.

In order to generate the annual electricity demand for a car run on biofuel, we need approximately 5000 square metres of land. For an electric car with similar mileage, the roof of a single-family house with about 20 square metres would suffice

Battery electric vehicles

Battery electric vehicles are currently one of the eco-friendliest modes of transport being produced commercially. These vehicles are run on electricity stored in a battery and extracted and utilised by an electric motor. Due to the fuel required by electric motors being electricity, these vehicles do not emit carbon or other particulate matter. This makes these vehicles eco-friendly. In India’s case, the push given by both the Centre and state governments to the adoption of electric mobility has shown substantial results. The subsidies provided by the government on the production and sale of electric vehicles has encouraged manufactures to undertake mass production of electric vehicles. Moreover, the expansion of charging infrastructure, particularly in Delhi, has also become a reason for consumers switching to electric vehicles. The two policies majorly responsible for consumers switching to electric 2- and 3- wheelers in India are Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles in India – Phase II (FAME II) and the Delhi EV Policy 2020. Despite this, the usage of EVs still faces the problem of the range that these cars have. The battery size of an EV, just like that of a vehicle with a combustion engine, is limited. It means that a user can only drive in one full charge for a maximum of 200 kilometres. As more and more original equipment manufacturers take up electric vehicles as their priority, the production cost of these vehicles is likely to reduce, and the range is expected to increase with more R&D. storage capacity, durability, cost, safety, and recharging times are all still not sufficient for a wide acceptance of electric vehicles. Lastly, governments need to make sure that the electricity being generated to power EVs should be renewable. If not, the entire basis of EVs being eco-friendly will be falsified. The Delhi government’s initiative to make electric mobility a   part of public transport buses is worth mentioning here. The government approved the procurement of 300 low-floor electric buses in the Delhi Transport Corporation DTC) ‘s fleet of buses on March 1. Delhi’s transport minister Kailash Gahlot assured that these buses’ induction into the fleet would be completed by February next year. This move, experts like Sohinder Gill, Spokesperson of the Society of Manufacturers of EV and Global CEO, Hero Electric, believe, will significantly reduce the DTC’s carbon footprint. He said, “The introduction of more electric buses will also reassure Delhiites  that the state has a conducive EV ecosystem.”

Fuel cell vehicles

These vehicles are the newest addition to the world of sustainable, zero-carbon mobility. Like EVs, fuel cell vehicles, or FCVs, are also run on an electric motor. However, the motor source is pure hydrogen which is usually stored compressed in a tank. As is the case with EVs, FCVs virtually do not emit any CO2 and also do not have the shortcoming of having a limited range. The power produced by the same quantity of hydrogen-powered vehicles is also more than EVs, and FCVs have also achieved cold start ability. This makes them suitable for places with extreme cold and inaccessibility. In June 2020, the Government of India’s Automotive Industry Standards Committee submitted its final draft on fuel cell vehicles’ regulations in India. Shortly after that, India’s first Hydrogen Fuel Cell prototype vehicle, developed by The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and KPIT – a Pune-based multinational corporation, successfully underwent trials in October last year. The vehicle featured an indigenously developed low-temperature PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) type fuel cell. A statement released by CSIR said that the organisations would jointly try to introduce the engine for commercial production by the end of this year. If successful, this will help India quickly realise its goal of zero carbon emissions from vehicles, which is still thought to be an impossibility by many. Since it is still an early stage of introducing FCVs in India, the government must focus extensively on ensuring that hydrogen production for the vehicle’s fuel cells must be environmentally friendly. If produced by electrolysis using renewable sources of energy, FCVs’ overall emissions will be virtually nil.

Vehicles run on biofuel

Using biofuel as a vehicle fuel is a relatively old concept. Scientists have been working on making this a success for a long. They have recently achieved great success as biofuel as a diesel additive or ethanol has been initiated. One of the problems of biofuel is the number of resources required for its production. According to research by Dr Günther Ebert, Department Head of “Electrical Energy Systems” at Fraunhofer ISE, et al., to generate the annual electricity demand for a car run on biofuel, we need approximately 5000 square metres of land. For an electric car with similar mileage, the roof of a single-family house with about 20 square metres would suffice. This is a big problem for cars run on biofuel. A relatively new approach is using biofuel to generate substitute natural gas or SNG. Hydrogen, produced by electrolysis using solar or wind energy, is methanated in the presence of CO2. This methane can then be passed using conventional gas pipelines for local energy generation and the operation of natural gas cars. The advantage of this approach is basing the vehicle’s supply on renewable energies, the uncomplicated long-term storage, the presence of distribution infrastructure and the universal usability of the energy carrier methane. Thus, the future of using biofuel as a fuel for vehicles is distant. However, with proper intervention from both government and private players, this arena can be conquered soon.