Well-to-Wheels Analysis of Automotive Fuels in the Indian Context
India’s dependence on crude oil imports for energy needs and the burgeoning pollution problems associated with present-day vehicle technologies makes it imperative to assess potential future fuel and propulsion systems. Such a study can be achieved by analyzing the complete cycle of the fuel from production to use in the propulsion system, also termed as a well-to-wheels (WTW) analysis. In this study, the WTW energy use, efficiency and CO2 emissions are evaluated for 12 vehicle/fuel configurations for a passenger sedan in the Indian context. The WTW analysis covers gasoline-, diesel- and CNG-powered conventional vehicles, series hybrids and plug-in series hybrids. In addition, hydrogen fuel cell-powered series hybrid and its plug-in version, along with a battery electric vehicle are also studied.
In addition to the above-mentioned variants of a passenger sedan, in the two-wheeler category, a conventional gasoline-powered vehicle and a battery electric version are simulated. The four wheelers are simulated over the Modified Indian Drive Cycle (MIDC), whereas the two-wheelers are simulated over the World Motorcycle Test Cycle (WMTC). Finally, the WTW analysis is repeated for a couple of scenarios for the year 2030 to forecast future trends.
The WTW analysis clearly shows that unless the electricity mix in India moves aggressively towards renewables while significantly lowering transmission and distribution (T&D) losses, battery electric four-wheelers will not be different from conventional diesel, gasoline and CNG-powered vehicles in terms of energy efficiency and CO2 emissions. For four-wheelers, series hybrid technology offers a short-term solution to improve efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions with diesel, gasoline and CNG. This technology can become more attractive especially with alternate fuels such as ethanol and methanol. Hydrogen fuel cell powered series hybrids also show high WTW efficiency and low CO2 emissions, where the hydrogen is produced at the refueling station from steam-reforming of natural gas. If there is an aggressive shift to renewables by 2030, then BEVs and Plug-in Series Hybrids attain high WTW efficiency and low CO2 emissions.
For two-wheelers, the analysis shows that battery electric versions are superior to gasoline-powered ones in terms of WTW efficiency and CO2 emissions even with the current electricity mix, making a strong case for their electrification.
