Abstract
This study compares electric roads with oil (petrol and diesel) and battery electric vehicles, using Denmark as a case study. Electric roads can reduce the cost of electric vehicles by supplying them with electricity directly from the road rather than via a battery for long-distance journeys. In this paper, an electric road scenario is compared to both an oil and battery electric vehicle scenario using the 2010 Danish energy system, but for two sets of costs: one set based on historical costs from the year 2010 and one based on projected costs for the year 2050.
The results indicate that electric roads are more expensive than oil today, but they will be cheaper than oil in 2050. Furthermore, electric roads are cheaper than Battery Electric Vehicles in all of the scenarios considered here, which indicates that the upfront investment required to build the electric roads is less than the additional battery capacity required for electric vehicles if they are not installed.
The electric road and battery electric vehicle scenarios are more efficient and produce less carbon dioxide emissions than their corresponding oil scenarios for two key reasons: 1) the vehicles are more efficient and 2) electric vehicles enable more renewable electricity to be integrated onto the electricity grid. This is particularly evident in 2050, since the price of fossil fuels increases while the price of renewable electricity and batteries decreases. Finally, the electric road scenarios can facilitate more reductions in the energy demand and carbon dioxide emissions, since they also enable heavy-duty transport to be electrified such as trucks and buses. It is unlikely that these forms of transport will be electrified without electric roads, due to the relatively high cost of on-board battery storage.
The results indicate that electric roads are more expensive than oil today, but they will be cheaper than oil in 2050. Furthermore, electric roads are cheaper than Battery Electric Vehicles in all of the scenarios considered here, which indicates that the upfront investment required to build the electric roads is less than the additional battery capacity required for electric vehicles if they are not installed.
The electric road and battery electric vehicle scenarios are more efficient and produce less carbon dioxide emissions than their corresponding oil scenarios for two key reasons: 1) the vehicles are more efficient and 2) electric vehicles enable more renewable electricity to be integrated onto the electricity grid. This is particularly evident in 2050, since the price of fossil fuels increases while the price of renewable electricity and batteries decreases. Finally, the electric road scenarios can facilitate more reductions in the energy demand and carbon dioxide emissions, since they also enable heavy-duty transport to be electrified such as trucks and buses. It is unlikely that these forms of transport will be electrified without electric roads, due to the relatively high cost of on-board battery storage.
| Original language | English |
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| Publisher | Aalborg Universitet |
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| Number of pages | 44 |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2016 |