Research conducted by the Propane Education & Research Council revealed that propane-fueled medium-duty and heavy-duty internal combustion engine vehicles provide a lower carbon footprint solution ion 38 states and Washington, D.C. when competed to MD-HD electric vehicles charged using the electrical gride.
The study shows that decarbonization can be accelerated by adopting propane as the fuel of choice for MD-HD vehicles.
According to the council, the conclusion is supported by a life-cycle analysis of equivalent CO2eq emissions between electric and propane-fueled vehicles across the U.S. using CARB carbon intensity values along with a powertrain efficiency analysis.
The following decarbonization recommendations are suggested by the study:
- All 50 states should aggressively invest resources in incentivizing renewable fuels.
- Federal government agencies, particularly the Department of Energy, should aggressively invest in various parallel pathways for renewable and synthetic fuel production to ensure supply.
- The U.S. should aggressively pursue immediately available decarbonization efforts using alternative fuels such as propane and dimethyl ether (DME) rather than wait on grid infrastructure improvements that are decades away from realization.
