On the road to sustainable transportation with renewable gaseous fuels

全球向可持续未来过渡的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。一种可以为实现这一目标做出重大贡献的方法是在高效商用车辆中使用可再生气体燃料（RGFs）。要实现实质性的温室气体减排效益，就需要广泛采用——因此低初始成本和低燃料消耗至关重要。该研究项目将建立基础知识并开发高效发动机和燃料系统的技术解决方案，以实现商用车辆中RGFs的温室气体减排效益。两种最常见的可再生燃料是氢（H2）和生物甲烷。两者的温室气体净排放量都很低：利用可再生能源发电的水电解氢气，以及有机废物气化产生的生物甲烷。这些可再生天然气可以与天然气混合分发，也可以直接供应给加油站；这种灵活性最大限度地减少了对新基础设施的需求。然而，燃料成分的变化会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辆的发展，使其能够在当地可用的任何RGFs上运行。这将通过集成混合动力系统的rgf柔性发动机和燃料系统的系统级优化来实现。本研究将集中在三个重点领域：1。对燃油喷射、混合和点火进行基础研究，随后开发了不同级别RGFs的喷射和点火硬件；2.开发先进的发动机燃烧策略，以适应不同的RGF成分，同时降低油耗和排放；, 3。研究恢复系统能量损失的方法，包括从压缩的RGFs中恢复能量损失，并结合优化车辆系统的系统级模型。该项目将帮助加拿大履行对《巴黎协定》（2015年）的承诺，并使加拿大的技术发展能够降低货运的温室气体排放，从而使加拿大受益。基于这项工作生产的车辆将能够灵活地使用现有的可再生燃料，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，这些车辆将逐步实现从天然气到可再生燃料的过渡，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广泛使用，这一效益将增加到90%以上：因此，该项目为接近零温室气体排放的货运绘制了一条可行的长期路线。

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.