On the road to sustainable transportation with renewable gaseous fuels

在全球过渡到可持续未来的过程中，一个关键挑战是大幅减少交通运输产生的温室气体(GHG)排放。一种可以大大促进这一目标的方法是在高效商用车中使用可再生气体燃料(RGFs)。要实现实质性的温室气体效益，将需要广泛采用--因此，低初始成本和低燃料消耗至关重要。这项研究计划将建立基础知识，并开发高效率发动机和燃料系统的技术解决方案，以实现商用车中RGFs的温室气体好处。两种最常见的RGFs是氢(H2)和生物甲烷。两者都提供较低的温室气体净排放量：使用可再生发电的电解水产生的氢气，以及有机废物气化产生的生物甲烷。这些RGFs可以与天然气(NG)混合进行分配，也可以直接供应给加油站；这种灵活性将对新基础设施的需求降至最低。然而，燃料成分的变化将影响发动机和燃料系统。两者都需要精心设计，以保持车辆安全高效地运行。这项研究计划的长期目标是支持高效商用车的开发，这种车可以在当地任何可用的RGFs上运行。这将通过RGF的系统级优化来实现-与混合动力总成集成的灵活发动机和燃料系统。这项研究将集中在三个重点领域：1.燃油喷射、混合和点火的基础研究，其次是为不同级别的RGFs开发喷射和点火硬件；2.开发先进的发动机燃烧策略，以适应不同的RGF组成，具有低油耗和低排放；3.结合优化车辆系统的系统级模型，研究回收系统能量损失的方法，包括从压缩的RGFs中恢复系统能量损失。该计划将使加拿大受益，帮助我们履行对《巴黎协定》(2015)的承诺，并使加拿大的技术开发能够降低货运产生的温室气体排放。基于这项工作生产的车辆将可以灵活地使用可用的RGFs，使其能够在世界范围内使用，同时消除对任何单一燃料或能源供应的依赖。此外，这些车辆将使天然气逐步过渡到RGFs，首先与柴油卡车相比，温室气体排放量立即减少25%。随着具有成本效益的生物甲烷和氢气供应的普及，这一收益将增加到90%以上：该计划因此规划了一条可行的长期路线，以接近零温室气体排放的方式进行货运。

A key challenge in the global transition to a sustainable future is to drastically reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation. One approach that can contribute substantially to this goal is to use renewable gaseous fuels (RGFs) in high-efficiency commercial vehicles. To achieve substantial GHG benefits will require widespread uptake - so low initial costs and low fuel consumption are critical. This research program will establish fundamental knowledge and develop technical solutions for high efficiency engine and fuel systems that can realize the GHG benefits of RGFs in commercial vehicles. The two most common RGFs are hydrogen (H2) and biomethane. Both offer low net GHG emissions: H2 through water electrolysis using renewably generated electricity, and biomethane from gasification of organic waste. These RGFs can be mixed with natural gas (NG) for distribution, or they can be supplied directly to fuelling stations; this flexibility minimizes the need for new infrastructure. However, changes in the composition of the fuel will impact the engine and fuel system. Both need to be carefully designed to keep the vehicle running safely and efficiently. The long-term aim of this research program is to underpin the development of high-efficiency commercial vehicles that can operate on whatever RGFs are locally available. This will be accomplished through a system-level optimization of RGF-flexible engine and fuel systems integrated with a hybrid powertrain. This research will concentrate on three focus areas: 1.fundamental studies of fuel injection, mixing, and ignition, followed by the development of injection and ignition hardware for varying levels of RGFs; 2.development of advanced engine combustion strategies that can adapt to varying RGF composition with low fuel consumption and emissions; and, 3.investigation of methods to recover system energy losses, including from the compressed RGFs, combined with system-level models for optimized vehicle systems. The program will benefit Canada by helping to fulfill our commitment to the Paris Agreement (2015) and by enabling Canadian technology developments to lower GHG emissions from freight transportation. Vehicles produced based on this work will have the flexibility to use available RGFs, enabling their use world-wide while removing dependence on any single fuel or energy supply. Furthermore, these vehicles will enable a gradual transition from NG to RGFs, starting with an immediate GHG reduction of 25% compared to diesel trucks. This benefit will increase to over 90% as cost-effective supplies of biomethane and H2 become widely available: the program thus maps a viable long-term route to freight transportation with near-zero GHG emissions.