This article explores the applicability of smart grid concepts to the Dutch gas network by reflecting on the experience of the electricity sector.
This article explores the applicability of smart grid concepts to the Dutch gas network by reflecting on the experience of the electricity sector.
In the Interreg Smart Shared Green Mobility Hubs project, electric shared mobility is offered through eHUBs in the city. eHUBs are physical places inneighbourhoods where shared mobility is offered, with the intention of changing citizens’ travel behaviour by creating attractive alternatives to private car use.In this research, we aimed to gain insight into psychological factors that influence car owners’ intentions to try out shared electric vehicles from an eHUB in order to ascertain:1. The psychological factors that determine whether car owners are willing to try out shared electric modalities in the eHUBs and whether these factors are identical for cities with different mobility contexts.2. How these insights into psychological determinants can be applied to entice car owners to try out shared electric modalities in the eHUBs.Research was conducted in two cities: Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and Leuven (Belgium). An onlinesurvey was distributed to car owners in both cities inSeptember 2020 and, additionally, interviews wereheld with 12 car owners in each city.In general, car owners from Amsterdam and Leuven seem positive about the prospect of having eHUBs in their cities. However, they show less interest inusing the eHUBs themselves, as they are satisfied with their private car, which suits their mobility needs. Car owners mentioned the following reasons for notbeing interested in trying out the eHUBs: they simply do not see a need to do so, the costs involved with usage, the need to plan ahead, the expected hasslewith registration and ‘figuring out how it works’, having other travel needs, safety concerns, having to travel a distance to get to the vehicle, and a preferencefor ownership. Car owners who indicated that they felt neutral, or that they were likely to try out an eHUB, mentioned the following reasons for doing so:curiosity, attractive pricing, convenience, not owning a vehicle like those offered in an eHUB, environmental concerns, availability nearby, and necessity when theirown vehicle is unavailable.In both cities, the most important predictor determining car owners’ intention to try out an eHUB is the perceived usefulness of trying out an eHUB.In Amsterdam, experience with shared mobility and familiarity with the concept were the second and third factors determining car owners’ interest in tryingout shared mobility. In Leuven, pro-environmental attitude was the second factor determining car owners’ openness to trying out the eHUBs, and agewas the third factor, with older car owners being less likely to try one out.Having established that perceived usefulness was the most important determinant for car owners to try out shared electric vehicles from an eHUB, weconducted additional research, which showed that, in both cities, three factors contribute to perceived usefulness, in order of relevance: (1) injunctive norms(e.g., perceiving that society views trying out eHUBs as correct behaviour); (2) trust in shared electric mobility as a solution to problems in the city (e.g., expecting private car owners’ uptake of eHUBs to contributeto cleaner air, reduce traffic jams in city, and combat climate change); and (3) trust in the quality and safety of the vehicles, including the protection of users’privacy. In Amsterdam specifically, two additional factors contributed to perceived usefulness of eHUBs: drivers’ confidence in their capacity to try out anunfamiliar vehicle from the eHUB and experience of travelling in various modes of transport.Drawing on the relevant literature, the results of our research, and our behavioural expertise, we make the following recommendations to increase car users’ uptake of shared e-mobility:1. Address car owners’ attentional bias, which filters out messages on alternative transport modes.2. Emphasise benefits of (trying out) shared mobility from different perspectives so that multiple goals can be addressed.3. Change the environment and the infrastructure, as infrastructure determines choice of transport.4. For Leuven specifically: target younger car owners and car owners with high pro-environmental attitudes.5. For Amsterdam specifically: provide information on eHUBs and opportunities for trying out eHUBs.
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De technische en economische levensduur van auto’s verschilt. Een goed onderhouden auto met dieselmotor uit het bouwjaar 2000 kan technisch perfect functioneren. De economische levensduur van diezelfde auto is echter beperkt bij introductie van strenge milieuzones. Bij de introductie en verplichtstelling van geavanceerde rijtaakondersteunende systemen (ADAS) zien we iets soortgelijks. Hoewel de auto technisch gezien goed functioneert kunnen verouderde software, algorithmes en sensoren leiden tot een beperkte levensduur van de gehele auto. Voorbeelden: - Jeep gehackt: verouderde veiligheidsprotocollen in de software en hardware beperkten de economische levensduur. - Actieve Cruise Control: sensoren/radars van verouderde systemen leiden tot beperkte functionaliteit en gebruikersacceptatie. - Tesla: bij bestaande auto’s worden verouderde sensoren uitgeschakeld waardoor functies uitvallen. In 2019 heeft de EU een verplichting opgelegd aan automobielfabrikanten om 20 nieuwe ADAS in te bouwen in nieuw te ontwikkelen auto’s, ongeacht prijsklasse. De mate waarin deze ADAS de economische levensduur van de auto beperkt is echter nog onvoldoende onderzocht. In deze KIEM wordt dit onderzocht en wordt tevens de parallel getrokken met de mobiele telefonie; beide maken gebruik van moderne sensoren en software. We vergelijken ontwerpeisen van telefoons (levensduur van gemiddeld 2,5 jaar) met de eisen aan moderne ADAS met dezelfde sensoren (levensduur tot 20 jaar). De centrale vraag luidt daarom: Wat is de mogelijke impact van veroudering van ADAS op de economische levensduur van voertuigen en welke lessen kunnen we leren uit de onderliggende ontwerpprincipes van ADAS en Smartphones? De vraag wordt beantwoord door (i) literatuuronderzoek naar de veroudering van ADAS (ii) Interviews met ontwerpers van ADAS, leveranciers van retro-fit systemen en ontwerpers van mobiele telefoons en (iii) vergelijkend rij-onderzoek naar het functioneren van ADAS in auto’s van verschillende leeftijd en prijsklassen.
In the road transportation sector, CO2 emission target is set to reduce by at least 45% by 2030 as per the European Green Deal. Heavy Duty Vehicles contribute almost quarter of greenhouse gas emissions from road transport in Europe and drive majorly on fossil fuels. New emission restrictions creates a need for transition towards reduced emission targets. Also, increasing number of emission free zones within Europe, give rise to the need of hybridization within the truck and trailer community. Currently, in majority of the cases the trailer units do not possess any kind of drivetrain to support the truck. Trailers carry high loads, such that while accelerating, high power is needed. On the other hand, while braking the kinetic energy is lost, which otherwise could be recaptured. Thus, having a trailer with electric powertrain can support the truck during traction and can charge the battery during braking, helping in reducing the emissions and fuel consumption. Using the King-pin, the amount of support required by trailer can be determined, making it an independent trailer, thus requiring no modification on the truck. Given the heavy-duty environment in which the King-pin operates, the measurement design around it should be robust, compact and measure forces within certain accuracy level. Moreover, modification done to the King-pin is not apricated. These are also the challenges faced by V-Tron, a leading company in the field of services in mobility domain. The goal of this project is to design a smart King-pin, which is robust, compact and provides force component measurement within certain accuracy, to the independent e-trailer, without taking input from truck, and investigate the energy management system of the independent e-trailer to explore the charging options. As a result, this can help reduce the emissions and fuel consumption.
Based on the model outcomes, Houtlaan’s energy transition will likely result in congestion and curtailmentproblems on the local electricity grid within the next 5-7 years, possibly sooner if load imbalance between phasesis not properly addressed.During simulations, the issue of curtailment was observed in significant quantities on one cable, resulting in aloss of 8.292 kWh of PV production per year in 2030. This issue could be addressed by moving some of thehouses on the affects cable to a neighboring under-utilized cable, or by installing a battery system near the end ofthe affected cable. Due to the layout of the grid, moving the last 7 houses on the affected cable to the neighboringcable should be relatively simple and cost-effective, and help to alleviate issues of curtailment.During simulations, the issue of grid overloading occurred largely as a result of EV charging. This issue can bestbe addressed by regulating EV charging. Based on current statistics, the bulk of EV charging is expected to occurin the early evening. By prolonging these charge cycles into the night and early morning, grid overloading canlikely be prevented for the coming decade. However, such a control system will require some sort of infrastructureto coordinate the different EV charge cycles or will require smart EV chargers which will charge preferentiallywhen the grid voltage is above a certain threshold (i.e., has more capacity available).A community battery system can be used to increase the local consumption of produced electricity within theneighborhood. Such a system can also be complemented by charging EV during surplus production hours.However, due to the relatively high cost of batteries at present, and losses due to inefficiencies, such a systemwill not be financially feasible without some form of subsidy and/or unless it can provide an energy service whichthe grid operator is willing to pay for (e.g. regulating power quality or line voltage, prolonging the lifetime of gridinfrastructure, etc.).A community battery may be most useful as a temporary solution when problems on the grid begin to occur, untila more cost-effective solution can be implemented (e.g. reinforcing the grid, implementing an EV charge controlsystem). Once a more permanent solution is implemented, the battery could then be re-used elsewhere.The neighborhood of Houtlaan in Assen, the Netherlands, has ambitious targets for reducing the neighborhood’scarbon emissions and increasing their production of their own, sustainable energy. Specifically, they wish toincrease the percentage of houses with a heat pump, electric vehicle (EV) and solar panels (PV) to 60%, 70%and 80%, respectively, by the year 2030. However, it was unclear what the impacts of this transition would be onthe electricity grid, and what limitations or problems might be encountered along the way.Therefore, a study was carried out to model the future energy load and production patterns in Houtlaan. Thepurpose of the model was to identify and quantify the problems which could be encountered if no steps are takento prevent these problems. In addition, the model was used to simulate the effectiveness of various proposedsolutions to reduce or eliminate the problems which were identified
