Pre-feasibility of propulsion technologies applicable to the auto-mobile private transport in Venezuela

Motivated by the rise in greenhouse gas emissions from urban vehicle fleet, the possible energy crisis caused by the demand for non-renewable fossil fuels, and the extensive use of gasoline automobile private transport in Venezuela, the objective of this work is to evaluate the possible application of different propulsion technologies representing improvements of efficiency and sustainability for the automobile private transportation system in Venezuela. Every country has different energetic, geographical, environmental, economic, social and infrastructural realities; therefore the solutions applied to improve the sustainability of the transportation system may be different. This work begins with an investigation of worldwide existing automotive platforms for private transportation which are alternatives to gasoline internal combustion vehicles. Then the study is limited to platforms that best adapt to the current infrastructure in Venezuela. Then a series of technical, environmental and economic criteria are established in order to achieve a comprehensive comparison between platforms. "Well-to-Wheels" energy efficiency, CO2 involved in the operation, initial costs, operating costs, autonomy and End-of-life analysis are estimated for each platform. An overall comparison is made through a process of normalization of the previously defined criteria. This yields a score that indicates how close each platform is to a propulsion platform for automobile private transportation with major advantages for Venezuela. Finally an economic pre-feasibility study shows that implementation of electric or hybrid vehicles projects for Venezuela must continue.