Energy-efficient vehicle to reduce urban warming, air pollution and CO_2 emissions in urban areas

摘要

Urban environments in cities like Tokyo are deteriorating. For example, the concentration of NO_2 is already above the regulated value in the Tokyo metropolitan area and still increasing. This deterioration can be attributed mainly to an increase in the number of automobiles in the area. Another serious environmental issue is `urban warming (i.e. heat islands)', which is caused by concentrated consumption of energy in urban areas. In this study, a new environmentally-compatible vehicle is designed to mitigate urban warming, air pollution and CO_2 emissions. Principal specifications for an optimal design will be clarified, and improvement in the urban environment will be shown by 3-D computer simulations. In addition, we will report the recent energy efficiency data for a Japanese Hybrid Vehicle, which has been put into practical use in the Japanese market.