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The battery of a vehicle with an electrified powertrain (Hybrid Electric Vehicle or Battery Electric Vehicle), is required to operate with highly dynamic power outputs, both for charging and discharging operation. Consequently, the battery current varies within an extensive range during operation and the battery temperature also changes. In some cases, the relationship between the current flow and the change in the electrical energy stored seems to be affected by inefficiencies, in literature described as current losses, and nonlinearities, typically associated with the complex chemical and physical processes taking place in the battery. When calculating the vehicle electrical energy consumption over a trip, the change in the electrical energy stored at vehicle-level has to be taken into account. This quantity, what we could call the vehicle electricity balance, is typically obtained through a time-based integration of the battery current of all the vehicle batteries during operation.

Today most of the European member states offer diesel fuel which contains fatty acid methylesters (biodiesel) at a range between 0.5 to 5% vol. In order to meet longer term objectives, the mixing ratio is expected to rise up to 10% vol. in the years to come. The question therefore arises, how current engine technologies, which were not originally designed to operate on biodiesel blends, perform at this relatively high mixing ratio. A number of experiments were therefore performed over several steady-state operation modes, using a 10% vol. biodiesel blend (palm oil feedstock) on a light-duty common-rail Euro 3 engine. The experiments included measurement of the in-cylinder pressure during combustion, regulated pollutants emissions and fuel consumption. The analysis showed that the blends tested present good fuel characteristics. Combustion effects were limited but changes in the start of ignition and heat release rate could still be identified.

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) are one of the main technology options for reducing vehicle CO2 emissions and helping vehicle manufacturers (OEMs) to meet the CO2 targets set by different Governments from all around the world. In Europe OEMs have introduced a number of PHEV models to meet their CO2 target of 95 g/km for passenger cars set for the year 2021. Fuel consumption (FC) and CO2 emissions from PHEVs, however, strongly depend on the way they are used and on the frequency with which their battery is charged by the user. Studies have indeed revealed that in real life, with poor charging behavior from users, PHEV FC is equivalent to that of conventional vehicles, and in some cases higher, due to the increased mass and the need to keep the battery at a certain charging level.

This article analyses the Energy Management System (EMS) of a Euro 6 C-segment parallel Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV) available on the European market, equipped with a Flywheel Alternator Starter (FAS). The car has various selectable operating modes, such as the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV), Blended and Sport, characterized by a different usage of the electric driving with significant effects on the electric range and on CO2 emissions. The different hybrid control strategies were investigated applying the UNECE Regulation 83, used for the European type approval procedure, along the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC). To evaluate the influence of the forthcoming Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Cycle (WLTC), which will replace the NEDC from September 2017, this testing procedure was also applied. Vehicle testing was carried out on a two-axle chassis dynamometer at the Vehicle Emission LAboratory (VELA) of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission.

The EU projects reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, thus reducing CO2 emissions is a priority in the European Climate Law published in 2021. The transport sector is the second contributor to CO2, responsible for around 26% of EU greenhouse gasses emissions. In 2020, GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions from transport in the EU have dropped by 12.7% due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As society comes back to normality, vehicles use is increasing again. To reach the emission targets, new vehicles can introduce CO2-reducing eco-innovative technologies. So far, these technologies accepted under WLTP are light-emitting diodes and efficient alternators. Nevertheless, many other technologies have potential as eco-innovations. In the past, eco-innovative technologies have contributed to reducing EU CO2 emissions. In 2018, the fleet of newly registered cars with eco-innovations saved around 11000 tonnes of CO2. An increasing tendency is seen in 2019: 21000 tonnes of CO2 were saved at fleet level.

European Union's (EU) Climate Law sets a legally binding target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. EU identified hydrogen technologies as a priority introducing hydrogen-powered propulsion systems into the market. Even though the new registrations of fuel cell (FC) passenger cars increased by 41% in 2020 in Europe, the research community faces a lack of public and independent available data regarding the performance and energy efficiency of state-of-the-art FC electric vehicles. This study introduces a tailored methodology to characterise the different powertrain components and analyse the energy flow for a Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) already available on the market. Experimental data are gathered over different driving conditions, including standard driving cycles such as WLTP and US06 tests performed in a laboratory.

Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) sales have been spiking up due to a series of factors: zero tailpipe emissions, wider model availability, increased customer acceptance, reduced purchase price, improved performance and range. The latter is a crucial factor the consumers consider when purchasing a BEV, and it largely depends on how the vehicle operates (e.g. average speed), traffic, ambient conditions, and battery size. When driven on the roads, the actual range of BEVs can be significantly smaller than the certified value obtained from laboratory testing at standard conditions. To understand the factors influencing vehicle range in real-world operation, the study team performed on-road tests on three production passenger vehicles currently available in the European market. The measured quantities, including vehicle signals from OBD/UDS, were used to quantify the vehicle energy consumption.