Electricity-based mobility

In order to substantially reduce Swiss greenhouse gas emissions, both the electricity and the transport sectors must predominantly rely on clean fuels and renewable energy carriers. As soon as large shares of electricity are generated by intermittent photovoltaics and wind power plants, there might be peaks in generations which cannot be easily stored in conventional electricity storage units, especially on a seasonal level. However, such “excess power”, can be converted into hydrogen and/or synthetic natural gas and these can help decarbonizing the transport sector. This project is aiming at a better understanding of the optimal integration of the future Swiss electricity and transport sectors: which vehicle technologies and fuels (and combinations of them) will be the optimal solution for a clean mobility system, which can make use of daily and seasonal peaks in electricity generation? LEA’s activities include life cycle assessment (LCA), economic evaluation and scenario analysis. The project is co-funded by the Swiss Competence Center Energy and Mobility (CCEM) and is carried out in collaboration with ETHZ, Empa, and EPFL.