Papers by Anthony Velazquez Abad
Hydrogen Knowledge Centre, May 1, 2020
Masters thesis, University of Southampton., Jun 29, 2017
Energy Policy, 2020
Hydrogen can be produced from many different renewable and non-renewable feedstocks and technolog... more Hydrogen can be produced from many different renewable and non-renewable feedstocks and technological pathways, with widely varying greenhouse gas emissions. For hydrogen to have a role in future low-carbon energy systems, it is necessary to demonstrate that it has sufficiently low carbon emissions. This paper explores how green hydrogen has been defined, reviews nascent green hydrogen characterisation initiatives, and highlights the main Standardisation Committees Working Groups
Energy & Environmental Science, 2019
Hydrogen has been ‘just around the corner’ for decades, but now offers serious alternatives for d... more Hydrogen has been ‘just around the corner’ for decades, but now offers serious alternatives for decarbonising global heat, power and transport.
The fast food supply chain is facing increased operating costs due to rising food and energy pric... more The fast food supply chain is facing increased operating costs due to rising food and energy prices. Based on a case study of a major fast food logistics operator, this paper uses a metaheuristic evolutionary algorithm to find the optimal combination of low carbon vehicle, powertrain and transport refrigeration technologies that minimise net present costs for a heterogeneous fleet of heavy goods vehicles operating in the chilled and frozen food sector. Based on the financial and operational constraints of the live case study, the model suggests that rigid trucks should include spray reduction mud-flaps, new generation single-wide tyres, light weighting materials and flywheels. Depending on the duty cycle and fuel used, other additional technologies can further enhance the net present savings. Conventional diesel vehicles can reduce their net present costs by 10.25% and 11.43% in urban and regional duty cycles. The model suggested that alternative refrigeration technologies had less ...
Profit margins in logistics are very tight and reducing fuel costs is critical to remain competit... more Profit margins in logistics are very tight and reducing fuel costs is critical to remain competitive. Customers and policy makers are becoming more sensitive towards climate change due to the links between fossil fuels and global warming. This research presents a framework to help decision makers to select the optimal heavy goods vehicles’ specification that minimises their carbon emissions cost-efficiently given their aversion to risk. The framework developed, uses a broad range of methodologies, techniques and tools including carbon emission lifecycle analysis; simulations; live trials; statistical analysis; metaheuristics and multicriteria decision analysis. An assessment of the waste-to-fuel opportunities of quick service restaurants showed that these could cover around 5% of the energy needs of UK commercial fleets and it was found that used cooking oil could reduce diesel emissions by over 85%. Among the range of scenarios built, the solution recommended by the framework indic...
Hydrogen is a fuel that offers zero point-of-use emissions and can be produced from a wide variet... more Hydrogen is a fuel that offers zero point-of-use emissions and can be produced from a wide variety of energy input. Fuel Cells are a conversion technology that allows high efficiencies of energy supply. The UK energy security strategies do not yet embrace the potential these technologies offer. This White Paper therefore describes how hydrogen and fuel cells can contribute to energy security. Our key messages are: Fuel cells can contribute to UK energy system security, both now and in the future. Fuel cells can uniquely generate electricity at high efficiencies even at very small scales, and are already being increasingly used for emergency backup power. There are many types; some require high-purity hydrogen, while others can operate on a range of fuels including natural gas, allowing them some degree of flexibility. In the longer term, fuel cell electric vehicles could greatly reduce oil dependence in the transport sector and fuel cell micro-CHP could reduce gas consumption by generating electricity and heat at high overall efficiencies. Hydrogen can be produced using a broad range of feedstocks and production processes, including renewable electricity. Price volatility of primary energy sources or supply disruptions can be ameliorated by switching to other energy sources. Building a diverse portfolio of hydrogen production plants, using a range of feedstocks, would cost little more than building only the cheapest plant. Adopting hydrogen as an end-use fuel in the long term increases UK energy diversity. Scenario analyses using an energy system model show that the diversity of the UK energy system, including primary energy consumption, electricity generation, heat and transport, would be similar for scenarios with and without hydrogen, and slightly improved compared to today's situation. Hydrogen can be safely transported and stockpiled. Hydrogen pipelines are widely-used in industry and well-understood. It would be possible to develop large-scale storage of hydrogen more cheaply than that for electricity. This could supply many of the same markets as electricity and increase diversification compared to a system focused on electrification of heat and transport. Hydrogen and fuel cells could improve the stability of a low-carbon electricity system with a high penetration of renewables. Hydrogen could be produced from renewable electricity using electrolysers in a process called power-togas. The hydrogen could then be used as a fuel (e.g. in the transport sector), or stored and used to generate electricity at times of high demand. UK energy resource independence could be greatly increased through deploying high levels of renewables supported by hydrogen and fuel cells. ix A decentralised system of hydrogen and fuel cells could improve the resilience of the energy system to threats such as terrorism, production plant and infrastructure failures, and natural disasters. Furthermore, decentralised generation that operates at peak times (such as micro-CHP on winter evenings) would reduce demand peaks needed by centralised generation systems, improving reliability and reducing the need to invest in peak generation plant. With respect to affordability, the Government's energy security strategy concentrates on short-term resource price volatility and insufficiently addresses long-term sustainability. The strategy does not provide a comprehensive, long-term outlook for the development of a resilient, low-carbon electricity system at long-term stable costs that also includes costs to the taxpayer not covered by customer pricing. Production and infrastructure investments have long lifetimes and need a reliable and stable framework that will deliver affordable cost to the society as a whole. The energy security strategy needs to consider the implications of closer interactions between the power, gas and transport sectors in the future. These markets will be intimately linked by using hydrogen and fuel cells across the various transport, power, and heating applications. A future strategy would ideally take a more holistic view of these markets and of the energy system. Hydrogen and fuel cells offer many options to improve the diversity, reliability, resilience and sustainability of the UK energy system in the future. With appropriate support and a clear and reliable policy framework, UK energy security can be improved in the long term by unfolding the great potential that lies in the use of these technologies. 6.6 Enabling technology options 6.7 Conclusions Energy security impacts of introducing hydrogen to the UK energy system 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Description of the scenarios 7.3 Long-term changes in energy security across scenarios 111 7.4 Increasing future energy system resilience 7.5 Discussion 7.6 Conclusions Policy implications 8.1 Introduction 8.2 UK energy regulators, system operators and suppliers 8.3 Rationales and drivers for energy security policy intervention 8.4 Maintaining the security of electricity supply 8.5 Maintaining the security of gas and oil supplies 8.6 Policy priorities 8.7 Global policy initiatives on hydrogen and fuel cells 8.8 Conclusions
(2002), 'New heuristics for the fleet size and mix vehicle routing problem with time windows&... more (2002), 'New heuristics for the fleet size and mix vehicle routing problem with time windows',Advanced routing for city logistics service providers based on time-dependent travel times',A route improvement algorithm for the vehicle routing problem with time dependent travel times', Proceeding of the 88th Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting CD rom.
International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications, 2016
UK logistics fleets face increasing competitive pressures due to volatile fuel prices and the sma... more UK logistics fleets face increasing competitive pressures due to volatile fuel prices and the small profit margins in the industry. By reducing fuel consumption, operational costs and carbon emissions can be reduced.While there are a number of technologies that can reduce fuel consumption, it is often difficult for logistics companies to identify which would be the most beneficial to adopt over the medium and long term. With a myriad of possible technology combinations, optimising the vehicle specification for specific duty cycles requires a robust decision making framework. This paper combines simulated truck and delivery routes with a metaheuristic evolutionary algorithm to select the optimal combination of low carbon technologies that minimise the GHG emissions of long haul heavy goods vehicles during their lifetime cost. The framework presented is applicable to other vehicles including road haulage, waste collection fleets and buses by using tailored parameters in the heuristics model.
ABSTRACT The fast food supply chain is facing increased operating costs due to rising food and en... more ABSTRACT The fast food supply chain is facing increased operating costs due to rising food and energy prices. Based on a case study of a major fast food logistics operator, this paper uses a metaheuristic evolutionary algorithm to find the optimal combination of low carbon vehicle, powertrain and transport refrigeration technologies that minimise net present costs for a heterogeneous fleet of heavy goods vehicles operating in the chilled and frozen food sector. Based on the financial and operational constraints of the live case study, the model suggests that rigid trucks should include spray reduction mud-flaps, new generation single-wide tyres, light weighting materials and flywheels. Depending on the duty cycle and fuel used, other additional technologies can further enhance the net present savings. Conventional diesel vehicles can reduce their net present costs by 10.25% and 11.43% in urban and regional duty cycles. The model suggested that alternative refrigeration technologies had less potential for reducing costs unless working more than 10 hours per day; however they could make a considerable contribution to lower carbon emissions. As fast food logistic operators have access to used cooking oil, they can buy cheaper biodiesel while reducing GHG emissions by up to 84%. When comparing a conventional powered rigid truck using DERV with one using B65, cost savings were estimated to be £32,000 for urban duty cycles and over £42,000 for regional duty cycles per truck over their 5 year lifespans, reducing their CO2 by 231 and 273 tonnes respectively.
ABSTRACT Commercial Transportation of food for UK consumption represents around 9% of the GHGs em... more ABSTRACT Commercial Transportation of food for UK consumption represents around 9% of the GHGs emissions of the food chain and between 1.8% and 2.5% of all UK carbon emissions. Delivering sustainable freight is not only about reducing emissions but also doing so in a cost efficient manner. This paper proposes a sim-heuristics framework that can be used by Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) procurement decision makers to specify the right combination of Low Carbon Technologies that minimise the vehicle total cost of ownership. HGV manufacturers will find the approach also useful to tailor the configuration of their vehicles to the operating requirements of their customers. Policy makers also will find this framework useful as it can help them to identify the technologies with greater potential for specific sectors and focussing research and development efforts on these.
Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2015
The fast food supply chain is facing increasing operating costs due to volatile food and energy p... more The fast food supply chain is facing increasing operating costs due to volatile food and energy prices. Based on a case study of a major fast food logistics operator, this paper quantifies the potential for fuel generation from the waste generated by quick-service restaurants in Britain. Several fuel pathways and supply chains were mapped to understand the carbon intensity of the various waste-to-fuel opportunities, the number of heavy goods vehicles that might be powered and the key factors that could help companies make better informed decisions related to fuel generation from waste. The research suggested that depending on the scenarios considered, between 13.9 and17.2 million GJ of energy could be obtained from fuels made from the waste arisings of British quick service restaurants and their distribution centres (DCs), representing between 4.4 and 5.8% of the national energy consumption from heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and Well-to-Wheel (WTW) Greenhouse Gases (GHG) savings of between 652-898 thousand tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually. Used cooking oil and burger fat arising from British quick-service restaurants could generate enough energy to power up to 3,891 HGVs with FAME diesel (B100), 1,622 with HVO diesel (B100) or 1,943 with biomethane annually. The paper and card generated by these same establishments could also power an additional 4,623 biomethane vehicles, wood pallets could power an additional 73 bioethanol trucks and plastics could also power 341 vehicles running with synthetic diesel. The results showed that collections of separate waste fractions by logistics operators could make a relevant contribution towards the decarbonisation of the supply chain while reducing disposal fees and fuel costs. The carbon emissions resulting from this approach depend greatly on the footprint of the collection and transportation systems used to move waste from the restaurants to the processing plants and return the converted fuel back to the distribution centres where the vehicles are refuelled. Logistics firms are in a privileged position to manage these flows as they can use empty back-haul trips to collect and consolidate waste in distribution centres.
Energy Policy, 2020
Hydrogen can be produced from many different renewable and non-renewable feedstocks and technolog... more Hydrogen can be produced from many different renewable and non-renewable feedstocks and technological pathways, with widely varying greenhouse gas emissions. For hydrogen to have a role in future low-carbon energy systems, it is necessary to demonstrate that it has sufficiently low carbon emissions. This paper explores how green hydrogen has been defined, reviews nascent green hydrogen characterisation initiatives, and highlights the main challenges that standards and guarantee of origin schemes must overcome to develop a market for green hydrogen.
Most existing green hydrogen initiatives are in Europe. In anticipation of a future market for green hydrogen, international standards are starting to be discussed by national and international standardisation organisations and policy makers. A range of approaches have been taken to defining green hydrogen and guarantees of origin. These vary on whether green hydrogen must be produced from renewable energy, on the boundaries of the carbon accounting system, the emission thresholds at which hydrogen is considered green, and on which feedstocks and production technologies are included in the scheme. Decisions on these factors are often influenced by other national and international standards, and the legal framework in which the green hydrogen supply chain operates.
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Papers by Anthony Velazquez Abad
Most existing green hydrogen initiatives are in Europe. In anticipation of a future market for green hydrogen, international standards are starting to be discussed by national and international standardisation organisations and policy makers. A range of approaches have been taken to defining green hydrogen and guarantees of origin. These vary on whether green hydrogen must be produced from renewable energy, on the boundaries of the carbon accounting system, the emission thresholds at which hydrogen is considered green, and on which feedstocks and production technologies are included in the scheme. Decisions on these factors are often influenced by other national and international standards, and the legal framework in which the green hydrogen supply chain operates.
Most existing green hydrogen initiatives are in Europe. In anticipation of a future market for green hydrogen, international standards are starting to be discussed by national and international standardisation organisations and policy makers. A range of approaches have been taken to defining green hydrogen and guarantees of origin. These vary on whether green hydrogen must be produced from renewable energy, on the boundaries of the carbon accounting system, the emission thresholds at which hydrogen is considered green, and on which feedstocks and production technologies are included in the scheme. Decisions on these factors are often influenced by other national and international standards, and the legal framework in which the green hydrogen supply chain operates.