Sustainable Fuels for Urban Transit

BusesHolger Dalkmann, Director, EMBARQ

www.embarq.org

Sustainable Fuels for Urban Transit Buses | Apr. 15, 2013

Holger Dalkmann, EMBARQ Director

2 million of premature deaths from respiratory illnesses caused

by air pollution

Deaths from Chronic Respiratory Problems per 100,000Source: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at University of Washington

Though some comprehensive resources available, often focused on the US and Europe…

A variety of people making vehicle and fuel decisions

Information from different studies often appears to conflict

Trade-offs between pollutions health impacts, GHG impacts, and air pollution impacts

Need for Information on Vehicle Emissions

Different fuels have different impacts

Diesel:

Depending on quality, can

cause significant

emissions of harmful air

pollutants

Compressed Natural Gas:

Fewer, but finer particulate

emissions and higher

methane emissions

In 2004, the Supreme Court mandated natural gas (CNG)

for all public buses and autorickshaws in a number of cities

Are there other fuels that could be as effective at reducing

emissions?

Is natural gas the right choice to reduce vehicle emissions?

Improving the ST Research AgendaWhat’s the best choice? Need to understand the full lifecycle impact

OperationsFuel Production

Raw materialproduction Waste disposal

Images from Greenhouse Gas Protocol, World Resources Institute and University of Manchester Bus Logo

OperationsFuel Production

Raw materialproduction Waste disposal

Images from Greenhouse Gas Protocol, World Resources Institute and University of Manchester Bus Logo

Initial research focused on operation emissions

CNG has low PM emissions. Do the technologies exist to

reduce PM emissions from diesel?

Yes, however, the ability to use these technologies

depends on the sulfur content of diesel

Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel = 10 - 15 ppm (EU/US Standard)

CNG vs. Diesel: Common questions

Sulfur ppm Location in India

50 Major cities

350 Metropolitan areas

500 Nationwide

Particulate matter emissions from ULSD

with technologies are similar to CNG

ULSD +

tech Non-ULSD

+ no filters

For fuels for India: NOx vs. PM

For two very harmful types of emissions:

CNG is clearly lower in PM, but has similar

NOx emissions to Diesel

For fuels for India: CO2e vs. PM

Comparing GHGs to

health impacts:

All have high variability,

but diesel tends to

perform better

Air pollution key concern for

urbanizing India

International Approach

tailpipe emissions vs Indian

on use of fuels

No clear winner between

fuels – local situation is vital

CNG vs Diesel: Similar

impact, IF clean technology

and low sulfur diesel exist

Conclusions

Move regulation from type of fuel to

pollutants content

Accelerate introduction of ULSD

Support from MOUD and others to better

understand trade-offs and provide guidance

to decision-makers

Recommendations

Thank you

Holger Dalkmann

HDalkmann@wri.org

www.embarq.org

www.thecityfix.com

Research paper can be downloaded

http://www.embarq.org/sites/default/fi

les/EMB12_WorkingPaper_Fuels_0.pdf