India’s emerging fuel mix for 2050: actions and strategies to decarbonize the transport sector

Purpose This paper aims to review the role of government initiatives for developing clean fuels in India, decarbonize the transport sector and maximize the use of renewable sources of energy. India’s socio-economic prosperity is dependent on modern energy. The authors examine the role of biofuel in India’s emerging fuel mix. Design/methodology/approach A 20-year timeframe between 2000 and 2021 was set to learn about the subject and find the existing gaps. Of the 40 research papers, the authors found using keywords and delimiting criteria in the database, the authors have shortlisted 21 papers, which provided the theoretical framework for the study. Additionally, the authors used the government database to develop future projections using compound annual growth rate and trend analysis. Findings The study findings suggest that India should strictly implement the Biofuel Policy to promote indigenous production of biofuel to enhance affordability and accessibility. With blending options available with biofuels and biogas, the country can replace the right proportion of fossil fuel use by 2050. It will not only decrease India’s import dependence but also will create new job opportunities, specifically in tribal and remote locations and promote green energy mix. With emerging options like electric vehicle and hydrogen, the transport sector could be decarbonized to a greater extent. Social implications Indigenous cleaner fuel adoption and transport sector will generate additional employment and cut down fossil fuel import. Financial savings through reduced fossil fuel import will be directed toward social development. Originality/value The paper carries out critical analysis for the active use of modern green fuels in the present and coming days. Such unique analysis must help India to balance its energy basket.

Assessing the Potential of “Mobility as a Service” in Passenger Maritime Transport

This article assesses the potential of Mobility as a Service in passenger maritime transport from the supply perspective by collecting and analyzing data provided by interviews to key experts in passenger transport from both industry and academia. “Mobility as a service” in passenger maritime transport (also in this article referred as “Maritime MaaS”) describes the integration of passenger maritime services with land mobility into a single mobility service delivered through a unique platform for planning, booking, ticketing, and payment. The scope of this article is to explore the potential interest of mobility service providers to develop a MaaS that has as a backbone coastal shipping at the Aegean Archipelagos, in Greece. The Maritime MaaS ecosystem with its key actors is identified, while the perceived challenges, opportunities, and benefits envisaged by the adaptation of this innovative concept from urban transport to the maritime sector are recorded. Computer-assisted interviews were performed at a panel of 17 experts representing different types of decision makers. Participants were selected according to their current industry position or their academic profile. A content analysis with the use of NVIVO was conducted, followed by a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis based on the experts’ input, in order to assess the MaaS business environment. Results indicate that the maritime transport sector is relatively ready to adopt MaaS from a technological readiness perspective, while land transport seems to be in a lower level of technological readiness. PAYG (pay as you go) MaaS business model is preferred than a “MaaS package” model by most stakeholders. Finally, main challenges toward MaaS implementation are the discrepancies in reliability of service among different transport modes and the ferry fleet operational flexibility ceilings that are imposed by legal framework for ferry routings in Greece.

CO2 Emissions and The Transport Sector in Malaysia

Transport is an essential infrastructure for development. With its high share of gross domestic product (GDP), it makes a significant contribution to total CO2 emissions in Malaysia. It is therefore important to pay greater attention to reducing CO2 emissions and sustainable development in this sector. Therefore, this study aims at estimating the relationship between transport CO2 emissions and its key drivers using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) technique. The time period covered by the study extends from 1978 to 2018. It further investigates the response of CO2 emissions to shocks in the value of other variables by employing the generalized impulse response approach. The results suggest that urbanization is the major contributor to the increase in CO2 emissions followed by the carbon intensity of energy in the long-run. Carbon intensity of energy, GDP per transport worker and urbanization contribute significantly to increases in transport CO2 emissions in the short- and long-run. Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis recommends that Malaysia continue to be on track to reach the highest level of income and welfare to give pay more attention to the environment. Therefore, the country maintains its CO2 emissions level in the future because of economic development. Therefore, these findings show that energy and environmental policymakers need to pay more attention to improving energy efficiency and the use of low-carbon technologies and electrification in the transport sector and the use of high-quality public transport, particularly in urban areas, for sustainable urban development.

Sizing, Optimization, and Financial Analysis of a Green Hydrogen Refueling Station in Remote Regions

Hydrogen (H2) can be a promising energy carrier for decarbonizing the economy and especially the transport sector, which is considered as one of the sectors with high carbon emissions due to the extensive use of fossil fuels. H2 is a nontoxic energy carrier that could replace fossil fuels. Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) can decrease air pollution and reduce greenhouse gases when H2 is produced from Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and at the same time being accessible through a widespread network of Hydrogen Refueling Stations (HRSs). In this study, both the sizing of the equipment and financial analysis were performed for an HRS supplied with H2 from the excess electrical energy of a 10 MW wind park. The aim was to determine the optimum configuration of an HRS under the investigation of six different scenarios with various numbers of FCEVs and monthly demands, as well as ascertaining the economic viability of each examined scenario. The effect of the number of vehicles that the installation can refuel to balance the initial cost of the investment and the fuel cost in remote regions was investigated. The results showed that a wind-powered HRS could be a viable solution when sized appropriately and H2 can be used as a storage mean for the rejected wind energy. It was concluded that scenarios with low FCEVs penetration have low economic performance since the payback period presented significantly high values.

ДІДЖИТАЛІЗАЦІЯ ПІДПРИЄМНИЦТВА НА ТРАНСПОРТІ В УМОВАХ ПАНДЕМІЇ COVID-19

The article seeks to explore opportunities for further entrepreneurship development and its intensification in a pandemic setting, in the transport sector in particular, which is associated with the constant search for and implementation of new ideas, technologies, goods, services, manufacturing methods, etc. to retain a business. An emphasis is put that in modern realia as never before, the effective functioning of any company demands for continuous improvement, renewal, reorganization, finding new pathways to manage and run a successful business. It is noted that this approach is based on the latest concept that assumes significant changes in entrepreneurship in the transport industry and will foster further business development. In addition, the study reveals that the application of digital platforms is viewed as the newest tool that has the potential to boost the transport industry growth. However, despite objective reasons, there is still a lack of proper justification for the need to use digital technologies in transport. It is noted that the Industry Development Strategy 4.0 designed by the Ukrainian Association of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs interprets digital transformation as social or technological changes associated with the penetration of digital technology into all areas of human interactions. The essence of these transformations is to find new approaches and management concepts to resolve classic business challenges. The purpose of this article is to verify the feasibility of transport entrepreneurship based on digital platforms. The study provides insights into the benefits and specifics of digitalization in the context of Covid restrictions adjusted the needs of business acceleration. To attain the research objectives, the tools of information and marketing communications were used as well as the outcomes of marketing research to summarize information on the development of courier delivery and taxi services in Ukraine. Based on the analysis of entrepreneurship in the transport industry, the essential characteristics of digital platforms for taxi service have been discussed. It is argued that a customer focus makes the basis of any successful digital strategy. However, according to the study findings, transport companies need a single comprehensive perception of their customers to develop cooperation and offer a personalized approach to them. The summary concludes that digitalization is aimed at retaining the contact between the consumer and the producer to balance twofold interests: on the one hand, to the producer it will result in profit growth, and on the other – the consumer will be able to get the enhanced service quality, thus managing a close relationship between these two market actors, even in the quarantine realia.

The Role of Bioeconomy in the Future Energy Scenario: A State-of-the-Art Review

The bioeconomy aims at decreasing reliance on fossil fuels, preventing or reducing climate change, eliminating insecurity, and efficiently using resources; however, fierce controversy exists on conceivable pathways to accomplish these objectives. The transport sector alone, which encompasses all other industrial sectors, has grown with regard to its energy demand by 50% over the past 30 years. The aim of this paper is to promote a dialogue as to whether an economy based on biomass can be more sustainable than today’s existing economies, considering that the economy needs to expand and be boosted, while creating a cascading and recycling system. This semi-systematic review paper discusses four research questions based on findings from the last 20 years: (i) What are the crucial issues in the ongoing debate on the development of a sustainable bioeconomy concept? (ii) Where are the major conflicting points and focuses? (iii) How does the bioeconomy follow current urbanization and land-abandonment trends? (iv) How will the crisis linked to the COVID-19 pandemic change these previous scenarios? As it is not easy to currently predict which pathway will be the most effective, whether it be the one taken as of now or a specific novel pathway, this article recommends following a strategy that is diverse regarding its approaches to shaping the bioeconomy and further funding of renewable energy sources, along with the involvement of urban planning. In addition, conclusions are validated through a questionnaire completed by 51 experts in the field.

Digital Twin of Fuel Cell Hybrid Electric Vehicle: a detailed modelling approach of the hydrogen powertrain and the auxiliary systems

The transport sector is today a major source of pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions. Fuel Cell Hybrid Electric Vehicles are a solution to reduce its environmental impact, thanks to the zero pollutant tailpipe emissions and longer driving ranges if compared with full electric vehicles. A Digital Twin of a FCHEV is developed in this study, through the assessment of models of mechanical and thermal systems within the vehicle. The Simulink/Simscape model here presented is able to support both the design choices and the test of control strategies. The results obtained allow characterizing the impact of the auxiliary systems on the driving range, whose relative value ranges from 28% to 40% of the overall energy demand depending on the ambient temperature, and the range is between 430 km and 356 km respectively for mild and cold temperature.