The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) recently published its FY 2022 Annual Progress Reports (APRs). Energetics works with DOE and national laboratories to develop and finalize these publications.
VTO initiatives include seven programs that support research, development, and demonstration of various aspects of next-generation vehicle technologies:
DOE support includes funding and monitoring cross-sector projects that address critical technical barriers and challenges to implementing low-cost, secure, and sustainable transportation systems.
Each fiscal year, these seven programs issue reports that highlight progress at both the program and project levels. Energetics leads the development of six of these reports for VTO. Our APR leads collect progress reports from VTO program managers and all the projects’ principal investigators, develop progress summaries, compile inputs, and lead several rounds of editing, formatting, and quality assurance.
The reports are available on the DOE VTO website.
]]>The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Industrial Efficiency & Decarbonization Office has released the Environmentally Extended Input-Output for Industrial Decarbonization Analysis (EEIO-IDA) Tool, which was developed by a team of Energetics analysts. EEIO-IDA is an Excel-based modeling tool for analyzing industrial and supply chain emissions. Users can use the tool for scenario (“what if”) analysis, looking at how a sector or subsector can control emissions by adjusting fuel mix, electric grid generation mix, electrification, carbon capture, and other factors.
The tool considers emissions from across the U.S. economy, focusing on the industrial sector, and can determine emissions for 25 industrial subsectors. EEIO-IDA can be used to explore and visualize Scope 1, 2, and 3 (i.e., including supply chain emissions) emissions for each subsector. Custom scenarios for decarbonization can be created using adjustable parameters that align with the DOE Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap. Tool output then allows the user to evaluate the impacts of those changes on emissions from the subsector in question, the subsector’s supply chain, and the overall economy.
The tool has a 2018 base year, consistent with the most recent Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey and Manufacturing Energy and Carbon Footprints. (The latter is also an Energetics-led reference—comprehensive analyses of energy use and emissions across manufacturing sectors—that has been updated periodically for 20 years.)
The EEIO-IDA tool is now available on the DOE website.
]]>The 21st Century Truck Partnership (21CTP) has published four technology roadmaps, one for each of its technical teams. Energetics took a lead role in the development and coordination of these roadmaps, working closely with 21CTP membership throughout the process.
21CTP is a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Energy, Vehicle Technologies Office; other government agencies; and industrial partners across the commercial truck value chain. The collaboration's mission is to address the needs of medium- and heavy-duty truck fleets as they move toward sustainable, ultra-efficient, and low-emission vehicles. Medium- and heavy-duty trucks emitted 456.6 million metric tons of CO2 in 2019, or about 25% of total CO2 emissions from the U.S. transportation sector, the largest source of CO2 emission in the United States. However, these trucks are the backbone of the U.S. economy, so their transition to next-generation technologies must happen with a holistic understanding of the challenges and benefits, aiming for maximum efficiency, safety, and cost-effectiveness with minimum environmental impact.
21CTP has divided its efforts into four technical sectors, each of which is supported by a technical team. Energetics assigned a transportation expert to each team to coordinate development of a roadmap that will help the team strategize research and development for that sector:
Mike Lloyd, a program manager with Energetics’ Sustainable Transportation and Resilience division, facilitated the four technical sector meetings.
Each roadmap describes current technology status, outlines recommended goals and targets, identifies major barriers to attaining those goals, and suggests approaches to overcoming those barriers. These roadmaps will guide future research at national labs, universities, and industry regarding the advancement of technology within the transportation industry, specifically medium-and heavy-duty vehicles. The roadmaps were developed through a cross-sector consensus-based process, ensuring the strategies outlined are robust and credible.
All four sector roadmaps are available at https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/21st-century-truck-partnership.
]]>The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published Sustainable Materials Selection in Manufacturing: A Framework for Design-Integrated Life Cycle Thinking, co-authored by DOE, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Energetics.
The report investigates the opportunity to reduce a manufactured product’s environmental impact using eco-friendly materials. The report builds on the groundwork of the DOE Manufacturing Energy Bandwidth Studies, which Energetics has been supporting since their introduction in 2013. These studies analyze energy use and the potential for energy savings in various processes for selected manufacturing sectors. The Sustainable Materials Selection approach introduced additional data and methods that allowed for a holistic life cycle analysis, considering all aspects and stages of material production. The result is a generalized methodology to objectively compare materials on the basis of environmental performance in an applied context. The report illustrates this methodology through three material selection case studies: residential insulation, shipping pallet, and automotive B-pillar.
]]>The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published a repository of resources to help users assess emerging technologies, determining their potential costs and environmental impacts. Energetics worked with the Industrial Efficiency & Decarbonization Office and the Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Technologies Office to develop these resources, which include analysis tools, training videos, and examples.
The jewel of the collection is the Techno-economic Energy & Carbon Heuristic Tool for Early-State Technologies, or TECHTEST. TECHTEST aids users in estimating potential energy, carbon, and cost impacts of a new technology in a streamlined spreadsheet tool that integrates life cycle assessment (LCA) and technoeconomic analysis (TEA) methods. This tool allows a variety of stakeholders to create cost, energy, and emissions profiles for a technology throughout its life cycle, as well as identifying performance factors that lead to improvements. TECHTEST also allows a user to compare a new technology to its commercial benchmark.
The repository includes other strategic analysis tools, as well as short tutorial videos that explain basic concepts of LCA and TEA in the context of emerging technologies.
The resources are available on the DOE website.
]]>The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published Sustainable Manufacturing and the Circular Economy, a report that evaluates the sustainability of different circular economy strategies and provides four detailed case studies examining possibilities in different sectors. Caroline Dollinger, a senior scientist in Energetics’ Strategic Technical Analysis division, was a co-author.
The report addresses challenges with today’s linear production model, in which raw materials are mined or grown, transformed into manufactured goods, used, and then discarded. To quote:
To maintain and restore the natural environment and enhance the well-being of society, manufacturing and the complex worldwide supply chain that feeds production must be transformed from a linear to a circular model.
To this end, the authors examine how various strategies could be enacted and what their impacts would be. Analysts quantified material consumption and disposal, conducted life cycle analysis to determine cradle-to-grave impacts, and identified trade-offs. The analysis team also identified knowledge gaps and supportive research to fill those gaps and improve material efficiency.
The report follows the four case studies through the manufacturing industry’s linear production model, with goods being produced from raw materials, used, and discarded at one end and waste disposal and processing occurring at the other end. The case study topics are the electrification of cement manufacturing, food loss and waste reduction, plastics recycling, and circularity for electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries.
Underpinned by years of analysis work, the report was a product of the DOE Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization and Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Offices (IEDO-AMMTO) Strategic Analysis Team, led by Joe Cresko. The full list of authors can be found on page iii of the report, which is now available on the DOE website.
]]>Energetics is supporting Clear Roads, a national research consortium seeking to improve the safety and efficiency of U.S. transportation through improved maintenance. The collaboration, which includes 38 state departments of transportation (DOTs), evaluates materials, equipment, and methods in real-world conditions. Energetics and project partner Matrix Consulting Group recently completed a project titled “Evaluation of Electric Vehicle Technologies and Alternative Fuels for Winter Operations.” The final report and accompanying webinar are available on the Clear Roads website, and two related podcasts are forthcoming.
The goal of the project is to provide agencies that rely on diesel-powered winter maintenance fleets (comprising largely heavier trucks such as snowplows and salt spreaders) with an understanding of the vehicle technologies available. The report and webinar discuss benefits and possible operational impacts that could result from transitioning to a fleet powered by electric or other alternative fuels, including natural gas, propane, hydrogen fuel cells, and renewable fuels.
Energetics’ portion of the project was led by Russ Owens, program manager of the Technology Deployment, Evaluation, and Fleet Services group. We provided fleet experience and expertise in alternative fuel technology options. Energetics identified and interviewed state DOT and municipal department of public works fleets that use, or have used, alternative fuels, as well as manufacturers of alternative fuel vehicles, engines, fueling systems, and fuel producers. The goal was to understand the motivators, benefits, and challenges for fleets that adopt alternative fuels.
Few state DOT winter road maintenance fleets use alternative fuels. These winter road maintenance vehicles have difficult duty cycles during winter weather events, with long hours and high power requirements. Fast refueling is needed to keep trucks on the road. Also, many DOT depots are in remote locations, limiting access to reliable, high-power electricity and other fuels.
However, fleets are increasingly incorporating biodiesel blends, up to B100. Challenges associated with other sources are being addressed, with some options in early production (e.g., electric and renewable fuels), some expected in the near term (e.g., hydrogen internal combustion engines), and some in development (e.g., hydrogen fuel cells).
The project will be featured on the “SICOP (Snow and Ice Pooled Fund Cooperative Program) Talks Winter Ops” podcast (SICOP is an American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials program). The first episode (#70) will be released to the SICOP podcast site in mid-April, and the second (#71) is expected to go live in early May.
]]>The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released its Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap, a foundational new report that lays out a comprehensive strategy for reducing industrial sector carbon dioxide emissions. Two Energetics senior scientists, Caroline Dollinger and Heather Liddell, co-authored the report with Joe Cresko of the DOE Advanced Manufacturing Office (report lead), Alberta Carpenter of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Ed Rightor of ACEEE, and other top experts from government and industry.
The roadmap emphasizes both the challenge and the urgency of dramatically cutting carbon emissions and pollution from the industrial sector, which accounts for 30% of domestic greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and is one of the most difficult to decarbonize. The roadmap focuses on five industries that together emit over 50% of industry’s energy-related CO2: petroleum refining, chemicals, iron and steel, cement, and food and beverage products. The strategy to mitigate these emissions involves four cross-cutting technological pillars:
To leverage these opportunities effectively, the roadmap strategy includes a staged research, development, and demonstration agenda for industry and government. The roadmap also recognizes the critical role of environmental justice and energy equity in meeting these climate goals in ways that lift all citizens, now and in the future.
The Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap is available on the DOE website.
]]>Four investor-owned utilities have released results from Year 1 of their transportation electrification (TE) programs. Energetics and partner Cadmus Group are lead authors of the report, which summarizes findings of ongoing evaluations of these utility initiatives.
Southern California Edison (SCE), San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), and Liberty Utilities are administering 14 projects that are supporting installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure throughout California. The purpose is to install EV chargers to help the state achieve its clean energy and climate goals. The projects, collectively worth over $800 million, include (1) large-scale programs to electrify commercial medium- and heavy-duty fleets, and transit and school buses, (2) public DC fast charging, (3) pilots to install EV charging at schools and parks, and (4) a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) pilot demonstration.
The third-party evaluation includes program implementation status, outcomes, and lessons learned. By the end of 2021, 64 charging sites were installed to support of 451 EVs. Combined, the programs have a five-year target to support electrification of more than 18,000 medium- and heavy-duty EVs. Lessons learned cover barriers to electrification, strategies for shortening project timelines, methods for managing operating costs, and challenges securing program participation, among other topic areas.
Energetics is pleased to be working with Cadmus, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, ZMAssociates, and Davenergy Solutions on these assessments over the next four years. This effort represents the largest-ever evaluation of utility TE programs—not only to date but very likely for many years to come. The insights and lessons learned will facilitate future TE efforts across the nation.
The report is available through the California Public Utilities Commission website.
]]>Shasta County, in Northern Central California, is increasingly vulnerable to fire. In response, the Shasta Regional Transportation Agency (with funding from the California Department of Transportation) asked Energetics to help mitigate this growing threat. We examined the vulnerability of the region’s mobility to climate and extreme weather events and, based on the results, prepared an adaptation plan.
Energetics’ senior consultant Chris Gillespie led the vulnerability assessment. He started the project by evaluating projected changes to temperatures and precipitation and how they are expected to affect extreme weather and disasters such as wildfires, flooding, and landslides. Using geospatial models of the region’s mobility infrastructure and climate impacts, Energetics identified six key vulnerabilities and determined how they will shape the region:
For the second project phase, Energetics developed recommendations for mitigating weather-related impacts, focusing especially on policies, plans, and interagency collaboration to facilitate improved evacuation response and efficiency. The adaptation plan also addresses infrastructure protection, operational responses, planning guidelines, and funding opportunities for resilience-building measures. Energetics worked with client staff and regional stakeholders to develop consensus around priorities. Adaptation strategies include heat island mitigation with nature-based solutions, road maintenance operations that mitigate roadside fire hazards, and updates to the emergency operations plan that address evacuation for vulnerable populations.
The project culminated in a report, now available on the Shasta County website, detailing the vulnerabilities and recommended strategies to mitigate those vulnerabilities.
]]>