Investigating the application of an alternative fuel technology – A scenario-based simulation approach to analyze environmental impacts

The environmental impact of road traffic represents a key factor of today's traffic management. Thus, the potential of alternative fuel technologies needs to be considered in the design of future road traffic. Alternative fuel technologies aim to reduce emissions and to provide environmentally sustainable solutions. This paper investigates the application of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as alternative fuel technology for Light-Duty and Heavy-Duty-Vehicles in Upper Austria. More than a quarter of Austrian exports stem from Upper Austria. Especially for Light-Duty and Heavy-Duty-Vehicles new solutions need to be found and translated into action. The investigation takes a scenario-based traffic simulation approach. Thereby, three scenarios (2025, 2030 and 2050) are defined for selected roads in Upper Austria and changes in emissions are compared. Technically, the SUMO simulation tool from ITS West is applied to implement the scenarios and gain statements about different emissions levels. SUMO provides two options to evaluate emissions. The first option is to use the built-in HBEFA functionality, the second is to use the extensive PHEMlight functionality. Results presented in this paper are derived with PHEMlight. Initial results indicate that alternative fuels will have a positive influence on the selected areas. Future work will consider the optimization of routings considering future LNG-gas stations in Upper Austria.