Enterprise Europe Network – Sector Group IE Meeting Belfast October 2016, Benefits of dual fuel vehicles for Northern Ireland, Kevin Morgan.

1. Dr Kevin Morgan
Queen’s University Belfast
Centre for Advanced
Sustainable Energy
Benefits of dual fuel
vehicles for
Northern Ireland
Enterprise Europe Network Event
12th October 2016
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2. Centre for Advanced
Sustainable Energy
The Project Consortium
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Centre for Advanced
Sustainable Energy
Dual Fuel Vehicles

3. Centre for Advanced
Sustainable Energy
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Vehicle Emissions
Dual Fuel Vehicles

4. Centre for Advanced
Sustainable Energy
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Vehicle Emissions
Dual Fuel Vehicles

5. Centre for Advanced
Sustainable Energy
Impact for Health
Significant air pollution comes from diesel engines emissions
Particulates produced when sunlight reacts with both NOx and VOCs in the emissions
NHS treating 5.4M people for asthma (UK; £1B annually)
182,000 in NI
£185 per patient annually (£33.7M in NI)
https://www.asthma.org.uk
Vehicle emissions responsible for 5,000 deaths annually
COPD and asthma
Emissions regulations will get stricter for all vehicles
Dual Fuel Technology reduces emissions
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https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov
Dual Fuel Vehicles

6. Centre for Advanced
Sustainable Energy
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Dual Fuel Vehicles
So fossil fuels are bad
and electric is good?

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Sustainable Energy
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Dual Fuel Vehicles
Environmental Benefits from Driving Electric Vehicles?
National Bureau of Economic Research; Working Paper No. 21291
That depends on the source of electricity!

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Sustainable Energy
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Dual Fuel Vehicles
Fossil Fuelled versus Electric Vehicles
Range
electric vehicles: In 2015, cars range of 68-103 miles per full charge (except for Tesla 85D @270 miles)
HGVs: Limited information; reports of 100 mile range
Not ideal for haulage or intercity public transport
Refuelling time:
Fossil Fuels: Minutes
Electric vehicles: Overnight (i.e. hours; not necessarily viable for HGVs etc)
NOx Reductions?
Whenever a fuel is burned in air, you will form NOx
But where does the electricity come from?
In UK, only 12% from renewable sources. And targets are only for 20%.
Fossil fuel power stations contribute significantly to emissions also (CO2, NOx, etc)
UK taken to court by EU for NOx emissions from a power plant (2015)
Electric vehicles not going to address NOx issues
Actually need to think in terms of improving GHG and NOx catalyst technology

9. Centre for Advanced
Sustainable Energy
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Dual-Fuel Technology
1. Reduced diesel fuel consumption
→ reduced fuel cost!
Diesel = £1.06 per Litre
CNG = £0.63 per DLE
59% of equivalent price of diesel
2. Relative ease of converting diesel
engines for dual-fuel capabilities
3. Can operate interchangeably on
either DF or DO modes
4. DF engine performance is
comparable to diesel
5. Decreased exhaust emissions
↓CO2 ↓ NOx ↓ PM
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000EngineLoad(%)
Engine Speed (RPM)
Incomplete combustion region – DO Mode
Efficient NG/AIR combustion – Optimum
Dual-Fuel Region
Pre-ignitions &
knock - DO Mode
Typical engine load vs. revolutions per minute
(RPM) in a dual-fuel engine.
DO or DF Modes Possible
Königsson “Advancing the Limits of dual fuel combustion” (2012)
Dual Fuel Vehicles
A. Harris

10. Centre for Advanced
Sustainable Energy
Trends in Fuel Prices
Diesel prices have shown more variation
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Dual Fuel Vehicles

11. Centre for Advanced
Sustainable Energy
Energy Costs
Natural gas and bio-methane cost less per kWh
~25% less carbon in natural gas and bio-methane equivalents
Diesel substitution with gas means lower costs and lower emissions
Diesel Natural Gas
(87-97% Methane)
Bio-Methane
(>95% Methane)
Electricity
LHV (MJ/kg) 42.6 47.1 50.0
LHV (kWh/kg) 11.8 13.1 13.9
Feb 2012 2015 2016 2012 2015 2016 2016 2012 2015 2016
£ per L 1.44 1.14 1.00 0.45 0.5 0.57
£ per kWh 0.15 0.12 0.10 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.08-0.11 0.14 0.15 0.16
consumercouncil.org.uk
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Dual Fuel Vehicles

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Sustainable Energy
Impact on Northern Ireland Economy
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In 2012, freight used 383M litres of fuel (UK.gov statistics)
Total Cost: £383-550M
~60% substitution of diesel with natural gas (Dual-Fuel)
Total Saving: £124-180M
Natural gas is imported to Northern Ireland
Limited grid supply (see Map); improving over next 3 years
ALL these fuel costs still exit the NI economy
Locally sourced bio-methane via Anaerobic digestion (AD):
Retain a further >£130M in NI
R. Walker, P. McKenzie, C. Liddell, C. Morris, Applied Geography 63 (2015) 369-379
https://www.sgn.co.uk/News/GasToTheWest/SGNNaturalGas/
Dual Fuel Vehicles

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Sustainable Energy
Can AD bio-methane displace diesel?
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383M litres of diesel creates same energy as 210M m3 of methane
500 kWe AD plant can generate >1M m3 of bio-methane
Standard DF displaces 60% diesel: Needs 120 AD plants
55-60 AD plants will be operational by 2018
1 hectare of land can produce 33 tonnes of silage
1 hectare can produce 2400 m3 of bio-methane: equivalent to 4,500L of diesel
60% displacement would require ~7% total grassland in Northern Ireland
500,000 tonnes of food waste generated annually in NI: enough bio-methane to displace 10% of diesel
Dual Fuel Vehicles
Fresh material
(tonnes)
Dry material
(tonnes)
Total biogas
(m3)
Total methane
(m3)
Grass Silage 7,500 1,875 1,035,000 579,600
Litter 3,100 1,705 716,100 386,694
Slurry 5,000 400 125,200 70,112
Total 1,036,406

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Sustainable Energy
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Status of Dual Fuel
Infrastructure
Lack of refuelling infrastructure: grid connections, fuel pumps
EU directive: Refuelling every 150 km along port corridors
AD sites as refuelling sources/filling stations
AgriAD in discussion with Gas Networks Ireland
Emissions
Emissions are a major concern: Health/Environment
Increased regulation on vehicle emissions
VW Scandal: highlights issue of emissions versus fuel economy
Policy
Lack of local policy/initiatives related to DF
Grid connections
Duty on CNG or bio-gas
Dual Fuel Vehicles

15. Centre for Advanced
Sustainable Energy
Project Outcomes
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Dual Fuel Vehicle Modelling
Encourage local uptake:
EU directive for rapid fill gas stations; Gas Networks Ireland refuelling investments
Wrightbus already developing gas buses (QUB Wrightbus centre involved)
Models to be used for consultation with potential end users.
Shape Local Policy:
AgriAD already presenting information from this project to NI Executive
Shape QUB Research Direction:
New Pioneering Research Programme to prioritise biomethane for transport
Leverage Funding/Investment:
Data from this project already in use for further funding applications
CASE Photocatalysis for automotive after-treatment (methane oxidation)
INTERREG
Innovate UK (Wrightbus as a partner)
Data can also be used for business plans (biogas upgrading)/business loans (infrastructure)

16. Centre for Advanced
Sustainable Energy
Conclusions
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There are significant issues arising from air pollution
NHS treat >5M people for asthma (182,000 costing £33M annually in NI)
Vehicle emissions responsible for ~5,000 deaths in the UK annually (COPD, asthma, etc)
Dual-Fuel Technology displaces up to 90% of diesel with natural gas
Significantly less particulates formed from using natural gas/bio-gas
Natural/bio-gas also costs less than diesel
Use of renewable natural gas from AD plants has environmental benefits
Need more Renewable Energy/Electricity
Significant health, environmental and economic benefits for Northern Ireland
Dual Fuel Vehicles

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Sustainable Energy
Acknowledgements
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Dual Fuel Vehicles
Prof Roy Douglas Dr Beatrice Smyth Dr Juliana Early Dr Stephen Glover
William McMaw
Thomas Cromie Karen McDowell
Neil Winters
Sam McCloskey Tony Gallagher
Kevin Meehan
Andrew Harris
Centre for Advanced
Sustainable Energy
Richard Finlay