Multi-attribute assessment of a river electromobility concept in the Amazon region

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2021.01.007Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Economic and performance multi-attributes assessed on a normalized quantitative basis.

  • Electric motors substitute stationary engines in long-tail propulsion units.

  • Solar boats would be more profitable than fossil fuel-based propulsion.

  • Wooden hulls powered by electric long-tail propulsion units are the optimal choice.

Abstract

In this study, a water electro-mobility concept has been analyzed in the Amazon using the case study of the native communities in the Yarinacocha district in Peru. Multi-Attribute Tradespace Exploration (MATE) methodology is applied to identify the various stakeholders' objectives, generate the designs, and evaluate them. This methodology captured the intention of assessing not only technical aspects but also environmental and economic sustainability. Six monohull designs for each of the three navigation routes identified, plus an aluminum catamaran, resulted from the combination of the three materials (wooden, fiber reinforced plastic, and aluminum) of canoe-type monohulls with two types of electric propulsion systems: outboard pod propeller and long-tail shaft coupled with permanent magnet brushless DC motors. It was found that the Amazon canoe hulls studied require propulsion units of 3 kW to navigate in calm waters and 10 kW in rivers. The silicon-based solar photovoltaic systems are equipped with lithium iron phosphate storage batteries. Each design is valued according to the project's stakeholders' preferences, guiding the decision-maker to focus on those that offer higher value at a lower expense. Most solar boats on the two long routes had higher internal rates of return than the current design. The best options generate rates of 29.62% versus 11% and 10.79% versus 5.26%. It could be demonstrated that electric propulsion is competitive to fossil fuel-based propulsion for this case study.

Introduction

Although the lack of land and air transport infrastructure in the Amazon region makes it difficult to connect its scattered population, water transport plays a crucial role in connecting the communities, usually settled along the rivers. Ninety percent of transport is carried out via its waterways (Wilmsmeier, Sánchez, & Bara Neto, 2006) through ships propelled by internal combustion engines (ICE) powered by fossil fuels such as gasoline, diesel, or fuel oil. This type of propulsion has allowed better and faster interconnection between its cities; however, it affects this fragile ecosystem due to greenhouse gas emissions generated by fossil fuels, high noise levels emitted during combustion in engines, thrown and leaks of engine oil in the rivers, etc. Furthermore, in remote areas, the high costs and irregularity of fossil fuel supply limit river transportation.

An alternative to fossil fuel-based propulsion systems is electric propulsion systems (EPS), whose main components are electric motors and batteries. Coupled with onboard renewable energy technologies such as solar photovoltaic systems, EPS embodies a more sustainable transport method to traditional ICEs (Kurniawan, 2016). Throughout the history of solar-powered boats (SPBs), they were promoted as evidence of the viability of the paradigm shift from fossil fuels to sustainable energy. Nowadays, effective applications can be found for vessels such as relatively slow-speed shuttle boats or small craft boats (Gürsu, 2014), (Moya & Arroyo, 2015); mostly focused on inland navigation close to harbors, bays, and waterways with permanent infrastructure equipped to access electricity.

In the Amazon region, successful SPB projects are found as one-off cases, such as Kara Solar (Ecuador) and Aurora Amazonica (Brazil). They have strategically complemented electrification with renewable energy and electromobility in isolated areas, where the lack of electrical infrastructure restricts energy charging on-land. Notwithstanding their proven applicability in the Amazon context, no scientific literature addresses the impact of coupling different structural components of SPBs on technical, economic, and environmental aspects. To this extent, taking as a case study project of electromobility on water in the Peruvian district of Yarinacocha, the aim of this study is to evaluate solar-powered electric boat designs from the compliance of the stakeholders' preferences. The following specific objectives lead to the answer to the mentioned aim:

  • Identifying the water transport needs of the target group

  • Defining the attributes sought by the stakeholders involved in the project

  • Developing the SPB designs

  • Evaluation of the SPB designs

There is a growing interest from actors such as North-South climate partnerships, entrepreneurs in the tourism sector, and transporters in the application of solar-powered boats. The information generated herein would be a guide for the implementation of their river electromobility projects. The positive impacts of the consolidation of electromobility in the Amazon are not limited to the environment, but it is a means of ensuring safe and accessible transportation for their more remote populations.

Yarinacocha (8°21′S, 74°34′W) covers 596.2 km2 at an altitude of 152 masl. Its administrative and economic center is the inland port of Puerto Callao, the central public entity's headquarter. Puerto Callao and the main towns are on the Yarinacocha Lagoon banks, an oxbow lake just off the Ucayali River. Both, together with the Cashibococha Lagoon, constitute the three main bodies of water in the district. While the two lagoons are means of local transport between nearby towns for domestic or small business activities, the Ucayali River is the main route for larger vessels to transport people and cargo. At the Yarinacocha Lagoon alone, about 100 canoe-type boats provide service for local transportation.

Ten percent of its nearly 104,000 inhabitants is indigenous (Quechua, Aymara, or Amazonian natives), and more than 3000 people of the Shipibo-Konibo ethnic group live in the nine indigenous communities (Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática, 2018). Fig. 1 shows the district of Yarinacocha, the capital Puerto Callao and the Shipibo-Konibo communities under study. The red dots refer to the six communities that make active water transportation use through three navigation routes.

Yarinacocha's climate is Tropical monsoon (Beck et al., 2018). Although the average annual temperature (26.3 °C) varies slightly and it rains throughout the year, the rainfall shows a constant seasonal pattern: the dry season lasts from May to September, and the rainy season is between October and April (NASA, 2018). This seasonal variation causes an annual cycle of floods that significantly influences the socio-economic activities along the Ucayali River and lagoons, such as agriculture, fishing, hunting, and harvesting forest products on the floodplains (Labarta, White, Leguía, Guzmán, & Soto, 2007). When the rains and the rising waters flood the departmental road, communities on the banks of water bodies are highly dependent on water transport. Yarinacocha Lagoon is also vital for the district economy as a tourist attraction that generates income for guides, restaurants, and hotels along Yarinacocha.

Yarinacocha strongly dependent on water transport for the development of its socio-economic activities. As Wilmsmeier et al. (2006) state, its importance goes even beyond mere transportation of people and cargo: it is a central attribute of Amazonian identity.

SPBs are hulls equipped with EPS powered by electricity from photovoltaic modules on-board, and alternatively from the grid. The advantages of electric propulsion include emission-free operation, low noise level, and increased maneuverability (Symington, Belle, Nguyen, & Binns, 2016) — for example, electric motors that allow instant reverse, and enable the use of renewable energy sources. Fig. 2 shows the proposed EPS' main components for the SPB project: PV array, battery bank, motor controller, and electric motor as the main load. Additionally, the design also includes an inverter/charger and charge controller integrated into one device (dotted line).

Photovoltaic cells convert solar irradiance directly into electrical energy. Connected to the PV array, the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) controller modifies voltage to charge batteries from the PV system effectively. The most common energy storage system for powering electric vehicles (EVs) are rechargeable traction batteries. It is equipped with a Battery Management System (BMS) to balance the battery pack and protect it from malfunctions.

The electric motor converts electrical energy from the battery into mechanical energy transmitted to a propeller to tow the ship. This study works with permanent magnet brushless DC Motors because of its suitability for direct drive traction application of small EVs. To control the propulsion unit's speed and acceleration, the motor controller operates between the battery bank and the DC motor by regulating the current flow. Using a microprocessor, it also performs safety work, as the controller can limit the motor's output power when it receives a signal back, indicating that the temperature of the motor windings is too high (Gieras & Bianchi, 2003).

As a backup, when the PV array cannot produce enough energy to perform the mission, the inverter/charger converts AC power from the grid onshore into DC energy that can charge deep cycle batteries. Additionally, it converts DC power from the batteries into AC that can power auxiliary loads. The charger/inverter controller, depending on the user's configuration through the interface, sends the energy that comes from the PV array to the discharged battery bank; or when the battery bank is fully charged, it delivers the energy flow to the auxiliary loads. The interface also provides information on system performance and available energy.

Section snippets

Method

The intricate process of designing a product aims to capture the stakeholder's needs and requirements involved during its life cycle. For this purpose, it is imperative to identify the value attributes that lead to achieving the stakeholders' objectives. As a result, the design space may result in more than one option that satisfies the desired attributes on different levels. Moreover, among the available alternatives, the decision-maker must consider multiple attributes to proceed with the

Results and discussion

This section addresses the MATE application as a framework methodology to generate the SPB designs and evaluate them under the preferences of the stakeholders involved in the SPB project.

Conclusion

This research is supported by an exhaustive study of the Amazonian context. The application of the MATE methodology generated a set of SPB designs according to the stakeholders' preferences. Then, the SPB designs that contribute the most value to cost efficiency were identified. Insights into the attributes of the various coupling options have disclosed that SPBs are competitive not only technically but also economically. EPS installed in typical Amazonian canoe-type hulls meet the requested

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgements

We thank the members of the Shipibo-Konibo communities who participated in this research, especially to FECONAU. Our gratitude extends to the Peruvian Government organizations that collaborated with information related to the characterization of the case study: ANA, DICAPI, DREM, and foremost, the Municipality of Yarinacocha. We are grateful to Engagement Global and the City of Cologne, which provided financial support for the fieldwork in Yarinacocha. Rosa Zuloeta is thankful for the funding

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