£435

1. SustainableEngineering@Edinburgh VED Band CO2 emissions Standard rate Petrol/Diesel Standard rate Green Car First-year rate Petrol/Diesel Standard rate Petrol/Diesel A Up to 100 g/km £0 £0 £0 £0 B 101-110 g/km £35 £15 £0 £20 C 111-120 g/km £35 £15 £0 £30 … … … … … … L 226-255 g/km £405 £390 £750 £425 M Over 255 g/km £405 £390 £950 £435 Key References 1 www.transportenvironment.org/publications/prep_hand_out/lid:501 2 www.cfit.gov.uk 3 http://www.whatgreencar.com/roadtax.php 4 www.images.paultan.org 5 www.fuelcells.org 6 www.lexus.co.uk/about_lexus/news_and_events/gs450h_tax.asp 7 www.lexus.com 8 www.gbi.ie/download/gbi%20biodiesel%20facts%20&%20figures.pdf 9 National Security Consequences of U.S Oil Dependency Innovative Vehicle DesignAsem Barakat (0680664) Patrick Rainey (0565796) Tao Gao (0570344) Adam Freeburn (0679717)IMS3, Sustainability Module, March 2009 2 3 Introduction In the EU 13% of carbon emissions are created from vehicles1. As climate change awareness increases there has been a surge in demand for vehicles with lower emissions. The UK government is just about to restructure its road tax as of the 1st April 2009. The restructured tax bands are shown in the table below. (Note that not even the Toyota Prius makes it into the lowest tax bracket). There are four innovative technologies that have reduced carbon emissions in comparison to conventional internal combustion engine. Electric Cars Electric vehicles have been around since the 1880’s. It is not till recently that battery technology has advanced enough to produce a rechargeable battery that has enough charge to compete with the internal combustion engine. Advantages • An average of 1p a mile motoring. • “carbon free” motoring. • Exemption from road tax and congestion charges. Disadvantages • The power from the mains supply at your home is provided by a fossil fuel power station. • Limited travel distance on single charge • 1 kg of coal produces 1.8 kg of CO2 and 2kWh of power. Hybrid Vehicles Introduction Hybrid means to combine more than one source of different types of energy to produce a single energy output. Hybrid cars use combustion engine and electric motor in combination to produce kinetic energy, so by that the goals of innovation such as performance, fuel economy, power and low emission could be achieved. 4 Advantages • Hybrid cars have better fuel economy than conventional cars. • Produce lower emission. • Have the same power, performance and price compared to conventional vehicles. • Reduced noise. • Self charging cells, no need for external electric charge. Disadvantages • Limited battery life, expensive to replace • Initial cost is more expensive. • More weight due to battery pack. • Complicated system compared to conventional cars, needs experienced mechanics to maintain. Hydrogen Fuel Cells • Hydrogen is the third most abundant element on Earth. • Only exists in compounds (H2O) (CH4)‏ • Two ways of extracting hydrogen – Steam reforming and electrolysis Advantages • It is more practical than electric cars as it does not need to be recharged • It is a clean fuel – the only by-product is water Disadvantages • The infrastructure for generation and distribution does not yet exist. • Hydrogen is expensive to produce and as a by-product CO2 is created • The fuel cells are extremely expensive to produce and require a larger volume than a conventional petrol tank. The main driving force behind hydrogen fuel cell research is oil, or soon to be lack of. An interesting statistic is – “America imports 55% of its oil and by 2025 this is expected to grow to 68%”5 6 7 Biofuels and Conclusion Biofuels can be an alternative for those who do not wish to buy a new car. By changing from diesel to biofuel one can reduce carbon emissions by 60-80% with no negative effects on performance.8 However biofuel production has been blamed for the increase in food prices as farmers can get a better price by selling it as fuel, rather than food. A final thought: “America consumes one quarter of all the oil produced in the world even though only 4.6% of the world population lives there”9