title: Low-CO(2) electricity and hydrogen: a help or hindrance for electric and hydrogen vehicles?
abstract: The title question was addressed using an energy model that accounts for projected global energy use in all sectors (transportation, heat, and power) of the global economy. Global CO(2) emissions were constrained to achieve stabilization at 400-550 ppm by 2100 at the lowest total system cost (equivalent to perfect CO(2) cap-and-trade regime). For future scenarios where vehicle technology costs were sufficiently competitive to advantage either hydrogen or electric vehicles, increased availability of low-cost, low-CO(2) electricity/hydrogen delayed (but did not prevent) the use of electric/hydrogen-powered vehicles in the model. This occurs when low-CO(2) electricity/hydrogen provides more cost-effective CO(2) mitigation opportunities in the heat and power energy sectors than in transportation. Connections between the sectors leading to this counterintuitive result need consideration in policy and technology planning.
authors.affiliation: Systems Analytics and Environmental Sciences Department, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan 48121-2053, USA. twalling@ford.com
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Wallington
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grahn
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Williander
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lindgren
mesh_terms: D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D011211:Electric Power Supplies / Q000191:economics; D004560:Electricity; D005742:Gasoline; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D018986:Motor Vehicles; D014186:Transportation
chemical_list: D005742:Gasoline; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D006859:Hydrogen