Tetrethyl-lead was used also as a petrol additive in Europe. Marketing of TEL was prohibited by EU 1.1.2000, though many European countries had banned it before that.

According to information (in Swedish) from the bus operator, these busses will use biomethane, not natural gas.

NOx is measured in ppm, but converted in Euro 6 passenger cars to NOx g/km and for heavy duty engines Euro VI in g/kWh, so increased amount of air in bigger deplacement engines is compensated for.

I have driven a VW Passat with 4motion Haldex-4 for 10 years now in Norway. The Haldex engages so fast that I have never had a problem on black ice. The biggest problem with 4wd (haldex or permanent AWD) is that people forget that it does not give you better grip when braking. It shows on the statistics when SUV owners from the cities get out on the icy roads.

NEL hydrogen is now the company marketing Norsk Hydro electrolyzer technology. According to their brochure: Typical power consumption (kWh/Nm3 H2) 3.8 - 4.4 http://www.nel-hydrogen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Efficient_Electrolysers_for_Hydrogen_Production.pdf

Accoording to FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS: Roughly one-third of the edible parts of food produced for human consumption, gets lost or wasted globally, which is about 1.3 billion ton per year. Food is wasted throughout the FSC, from initial agricultural production down to final household consumption. In medium- and high-income countries food is to a great extent wasted, meaning that it is thrown away even if it is still suitable for human consumption. Significant food loss and waste do, however, also occur early in the food supply chain. In low-income countries food is mainly lost during the early and middle stages of the food supply chain; much less food is wasted at the consumer level. http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/suistainability/pdf/Global_Food_Losses_and_Food_Waste.pdf

And what power mix has been used for this LCA? 100% solar/wind or 100% coal or something in between? Could not find any information on KIA web, only glossy pictures.

In Copenhagen two BYD buses have been tested since January. Maximum range on one charge was 325 km, while expected range was 250 km. Those that want to check the power mix in Denmark (real time, including g CO2/kWh) may check out http://www.energinet.dk

The situation is special in Norway, the yellow segment, NOR. When you buy a BEV, there is no VAT, no CO2 tax, no tax on weight or horsepower. An ordinary VW Golf, these are approx 40% of the price. So an e-Golf (115 hp) costs 252000 NOK while a Golf TDI (105 hp) costs 299000 NOK. Diesel is 13 NOK per litre, equivalent to approx 1,3 NOK/kWh, while power at home costs 0,85 NOK/kWh. Charging at public stations are free for BEVs, no road toll (also free ferries, free parking and you are allow to drive in the bus/taxi lane to avoid ques. These benefits will be evaluated in 2017 or there are 50000 BEV registered. 1413 Tesla were registered in March this year, a record number of registrations for one car in one month since start of statistic in 1992.

Long term studies on buses in Europe indicate that once the new HD vehicles are not new anymore the DPF and catalysts loose eficiency.

@mahonj Volvo is a Swedish/Chinese company. Both countries have snow cover on the roads part of the year. Besides road lines get worn, especially in countries where studded tires are used during winter

Norway : 7882 new cars with electric motor in 2013, of total 142 151 new cars in 2013. Average CO2 emmission for new cars in December was 115 g CO2/km

@HarveyD: in Norway: very high tax when buying an ICE car, based on weight, CO2 emission and horsepower. High tax on fuel, cheap electricity. Free passage on toll roads, allowed to use bus/taxi lanes (important for commuting in the big cities). Free parking for BEV and some places PHEV. Tesla cost about the same as a Mercedes C200. Total car tax pluss Value added tax will be around 35 to 40% of the price tag on the Merc. One liter of diesel is around 13 NOK for the moment, or a around 2,15 USD. That said, based on buying power diesel is actually not expensive in Norway compared with other European countries. Electricity is now around 0,75 NOK/kWh.

@engineer-poet. Crude glycerol is a very good substrate for biogas production. Upgraded to methane it can be fed directly into the natural gas grid. I think this is a more efficient route.

The press release says the 9% titer is from glucose and in a purely bascis and mineral media. So it is not that remarkable . Earlier they have reported 3% titer from biomass. They still have a number of hurdles to pass.

According to Wikipedia sulfur hexafluoride has a GWP over 100 years of 22 800. Though GWP is normally calculated on kg basis, not on molecular basis as calculated above. What are the correct numbers?

I cannot see this article is about liquid fuels, but using SNG directly as vehicle fuel. SNG is methane made from coal. Town gas is a mixture of methane, hydrogen and carbon monoxide, there is quite a difference from SNG in gas quality. Not that this in any way seems to improve the environmental issues in China.

Photosynthetic efficiency is 3 to 6 % and processing furthers reduce the energy yield, while photovoltaics give 10% directly to electric power. What are the economics of algal oil? Why not use the same area for PV

In Europe the TDI comes in versions with different HP, which one is this?

In the port of Risavika in Norway, there is a LNG plant 300000 tonne/yr using gas coming in pipe from the North Sea. They deliver LNG directly to ships with LNG engines. LNG from Risavika is supplied by ship to several terminals in Norway and Sweden, and also directly to industry in isolated tanks by trucks.

@ Darius Alkaline hydrogen electrolyser delivers hydrogen at 15 barg g using 4.9 kWh per Nm3 of H2. With HHV of H2 at 39 kWh/kg and density 0.09 g/L this gives 3.5 kWh/m3 That is 70% efficiency.

But high production of biogas from wastewater would indicate a lot of waste?

The Indian company that bought Domsjo pulp and paper plant last year decided that they would not build a full scale DME plant from black liquor due to the risk in investing, demand for biofuels and taxation of these. The pilot plant has been taken over by the Lulea Technical University.

@Harvey. As far as I can see from going through the NTNU web-site this study was financed by Norwegian hydroelectric power companies and the Research Council of Norway. @darius. Norway is not competing with Russia in production of oil and gas, but in exporting. Electric vehicles are not ideal for us if it means increased emissions in other countries producing the cars - there is only one Earth. I think this is the background for the study! As it is today, electric cars have short range, are small and not suitable as the only car for a Norwegian family. It is nice as a second car due to the taxation, and that you are allowed to use the bus lanes in the major cities, avoiding congestion. Some time there will be so many EV that they will be banned from the bus lanes!