Integrated Approach for the Assessment of Strategies for the Decarbonization of Urban Traffic

Dietmar Göhlich, Kai Nagel, Anne Magdalene Syré, Alexander Grahle, Kai Martins-Turner, Ricardo Ewert, Ricardo Miranda Jahn and Dominic Jefferies
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Dietmar Göhlich: Chair of Methods for Product Development and Mechatronics, Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany
Kai Nagel: Chair of Transport Systems Planning and Transport Telematics, Technische Universität Berlin, Salzufer 17-19, 10587 Berlin, Germany
Anne Magdalene Syré: Chair of Methods for Product Development and Mechatronics, Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany
Alexander Grahle: Chair of Methods for Product Development and Mechatronics, Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany
Kai Martins-Turner: Chair of Transport Systems Planning and Transport Telematics, Technische Universität Berlin, Salzufer 17-19, 10587 Berlin, Germany
Ricardo Ewert: Chair of Transport Systems Planning and Transport Telematics, Technische Universität Berlin, Salzufer 17-19, 10587 Berlin, Germany
Ricardo Miranda Jahn: Chair of Methods for Product Development and Mechatronics, Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany
Dominic Jefferies: Chair of Methods for Product Development and Mechatronics, Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-31

Abstract: This paper presents a new methodology to derive and analyze strategies for a fully decarbonized urban transport system which combines conceptual vehicle design, a large-scale agent-based transport simulation, operational cost analysis, and life cycle assessment for a complete urban region. The holistic approach evaluates technical feasibility, system cost, energy demand, transportation time, and sustainability-related impacts of various decarbonization strategies. In contrast to previous work, the consequences of a transformation to fully decarbonized transport system scenarios are quantified across all traffic segments, considering procurement, operation, and disposal. The methodology can be applied to arbitrary regions and transport systems. Here, the metropolitan region of Berlin is chosen as a demonstration case. The first results are shown for a complete conversion of all traffic segments from conventional propulsion technology to battery electric vehicles. The transition of private individual traffic is analyzed regarding technical feasibility, energy demand and environmental impact. Commercial goods, municipal traffic and public transport are analyzed with respect to system cost and environmental impacts. We can show a feasible transition path for all cases with substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions. Based on current technologies and today’s cost structures our simulation shows a moderate increase in total systems cost of 13–18%.

Keywords: decarbonization methodology; urban traffic; agent-based transport simulation; life cycle assessment; sustainability; total cost of ownership; charging concepts; conceptual vehicle design; battery electric vehicles; vehicle routing problem (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:2:p:839-:d:481346

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