Real-time Carbon Footprint Estimation via Blockchain
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for estimating a vehicle's carbon footprint during operation do not account for carbon-based emissions from recharging sites other than the vehicle's home charging location, and they fail to provide a comprehensive estimate that includes upstream emissions from various energy production means.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing blockchain data to estimate a vehicle's real-time carbon footprint by recording and making accessible carbon emissions data from the energy supply chain, allowing for the inclusion of upstream sources and enabling users to select recharging or refueling sites that minimize carbon footprint.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a power balancing algorithm is executed at a control server of an EVSE connected to a power grid of a building, then the carbon footprint of charging at that specific site can be minimized, but carbon emissions from other recharging sites and comprehensive upstream emissions from various energy production means are not accounted for
Solution Approach 1:
The blockchain network serves as a universal data infrastructure that records and provides carbon emissions data from multiple energy production sources (power plants, refineries, fuel synthesis facilities) across different locations. This enables the system to evaluate carbon footprints for various recharging/refueling sites beyond a single EVSE, making the solution adaptable to diverse recharging scenarios while maintaining comprehensive upstream emissions accounting
Solution Approach 2:
The blockchain acts as an intermediary layer between energy production sources and vehicle operators. It collects, verifies, and stores carbon emissions data from upstream sources (power plants, refineries) and makes this information accessible to the vehicle control system, enabling accurate WTW carbon footprint estimation without requiring direct connections between vehicles and specific EVSE control servers
2Loss of information
If WTP emissions data is not readily available, then the vehicle operator cannot make informed decisions about recharging/refueling, but collecting and processing comprehensive upstream emissions data increases system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
Energy production facilities (power plants, refineries, fuel synthesis facilities) autonomously record their own carbon emissions data to the blockchain network. This self-service approach eliminates the need for a centralized data collection system, as each source independently contributes its emissions information, reducing overall system complexity while ensuring comprehensive WTP emissions data availability
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle control system continuously monitors WTW carbon footprint calculations based on blockchain data and provides feedback to the operator through the user interface. This real-time feedback mechanism enables informed decision-making about recharging/refueling options by displaying comparative carbon footprint information for different sites, while the blockchain's distributed architecture keeps the data infrastructure simple
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems are provided for estimating a carbon footprint of a vehicle in real-time. In one example, the carbon footprint is estimated based on blockchain data. The blockchain data may record carbon emissions generated along one or more energy supply chains of the vehicle, and the estimated carbon footprint may be displayed at a user interface at a list of estimated carbon footprints corresponding to recharging or refueling sites.