06-10-2012, 01:10 PM
Sustainable Energy Research at The University of QueenslandPast and Future
Sustainable Energy.ppt (Size: 3.24 MB / Downloads: 26)
Three influential papers challenged our thinking
“The End of Cheap Oil” Colin J. Campbell and Jean H. Laherrère, 1998
“Second set of considerations about the state of the world’s energy supply” Hewitt Crane, 2000
“Hypercars: The Next Industrial Revolution” Amory Lovins, 1996
The End of Cheap Oil
Flow of oil starts to fall from any large region when about half the crude is gone.
Adding the output of fields of various sizes and ages (green curves) usually yields a bell-shaped production curve for the region as a whole.
Moving from Oil to sustainable energy generation
In the near future, Oil production will fall, but energy consumption will continue to rise.
We need to find fossil alternatives, preferably green and sustainable
Ramping sustainable alternatives up will take time, money and land
In the interim, we will swap to coal and gas, and (perhaps) curtail our consumption.
Amory Lovins and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)
RMI’s philosophy – triple bottom line, and the “breaking through the barriers” concept
Introduced the Hypercar concept
“Natural Capitalism: Creating The Next Industrial Revolution” by Amory Lovins
See www.rmi.org and www.hypercar.com
Our own history – SunShark
Twice covered 3010km from Darwin to Adelaide
Also competed in Japan , Syd-Melb
Won GM award for Technical Innovation in both 96 and 99
Greenhouse gases (GHGs) in Australia from Transport
In 2000, 16% of Australia’s GHG emissions are from transport sector [AGO, 2002]
Road transport represents 90% of this total
9.7 million registered passenger vehicles each travelled 14 300km at 11.7L/100km on average in 2001 [ABS], which equals …
16 270 megalitres of fuel, and
37.4 million tonnes of CO2 (7% of total)
A Design Strategy for Increased Sustainability
Return to first principles and design cars around user needs
Adopt the HypercarSM philosophy
Make sustainable fuel choices through Well-to-Wheel analysis
Conduct lifecycle assessment for appropriate selection of materials, technologies, designs and manufacturing and end-of-life processes.
Allow no compromises in performance, utility, features and comfort.
Adopt the HypercarSM philosophy
A drastic departure from typical automotive design mentality, it suggests a clean-sheet whole-system approach to vehicle design
Ultra light mass through use of advanced composites and lightweight metals
Ultra low drag through reduced aerodynamic drag coefficient, compact packaging for low frontal area and low rolling resistance tyres
Application: The UltraCommuter
Small 2-seat commuter vehicle with cargo area, dimensions L/W/H: 3800/1600/1300mm
Low drag design, requiring 6kW to cruise at 100kmh and equivalent consumption of 1.9L/100km
Lightweight aluminium chassis with modular composite crash structures and body panelling. Target weight is 600kg including driver.