Recent developments in vehicle-integrated photovoltaics (VIPV) offer prospects for enhancing electric vehicle range, lowering operating costs, and supporting carbon-neutral transport, particularly in urban settings. This study evaluates the solar energy potential of parking spaces in Berlin, considering challenges like building and tree shading using digital surface models and weather data for solar simulations. Utilizing open datasets and software, the analysis covered 48,827 parking spaces, revealing that VIPV could extend vehicle range by 7 to 14 km per day, equating to a median annual increase of 2527 km. The findings suggest median yearly cost savings of 164 euros from reduced grid charging. However, the environmental benefits of solar vehicle charging were found to be less than those of traditional grid-connected photovoltaic systems. The study introduces a method to pinpoint parking spaces that are most suitable for solar charging.

Urban bus fleets worldwide face urgent decarbonization requirements, with Germany targeting net-zero emissions by 2050. Current electrification research often addresses individual components—energy consumption, scheduling, or charging infrastructure—in isolation, lacking integrated frameworks that capture complex system interactions. This study presents “eflips-X”, a modular, open-source simulation framework that integrates energy consumption modeling, battery-aware block building, depot–block assignment, terminus charger placement, depot operations simulation, and smart charging optimization within a unified workflow. The framework employs empirical energy models, graph-based scheduling algorithms, and integer linear programming for depot assignment and smart charging. Applied to Berlin’s bus network—Germany’s largest—three scenarios were evaluated: maintaining existing blocks with electrification, exclusive depot charging, and small batteries with extensive terminus charging. Electric fleets need 2.1–7.1% additional vehicles compared to diesel operations, with hybrid depot-terminus charging strategies minimizing this increase. Smart charging reduces peak power demand by 49.8% on average, while different charging strategies yield distinct trade-offs between infrastructure requirements, fleet size, and operational efficiency. The framework enables systematic evaluation of electrification pathways, supporting evidence-based planning for zero-emission public transport transitions.

In 2020, vehicle sales decreased dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, several voices have demanded a vehicle subsidy similar to the “environmental subsidy” in Germany in 2009. The ecological efficiency of vehicle subsidies is controversially discussed. This paper establishes a prognosis of the long-term environmental impacts of various car subsidy concepts. The CO₂ emissions of the German car fleet impacted by the purchase subsidies are determined. A balance model of the CO₂ emissions of the whole car life cycle is developed. The implementation of different subsidy scenarios directly affects the forecasted composition of the vehicle population and, therefore, the resulting life-cycle assessment. All scenarios compensate the additional emissions required by the production pull-in within the considered period and, hence, reduce the accumulated CO₂ emissions until 2030. In the time period 2019–2030 and for a total number of 0.72 million subsidized vehicles—compensating the decrease due to the COVID-19 pandemic—savings of between 1.31 and 7.56 million t CO₂ eq. are generated compared to the scenario without a subsidy. The exclusive funding of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is most effective, with an ecological break-even in 2025.

In 2020, vehicle sales decreased dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, several voices have demanded a vehicle subsidy similar to the “environmental subsidy” in Germany in 2009. The ecological efficiency of vehicle subsidies is controversially discussed. This paper establishes a prognosis of the long-term environmental impacts of various car subsidy concepts. The CO2 emissions of the German car fleet impacted by the purchase subsidies are determined. A balance model of the CO2 emissions of the whole car life cycle is developed. The implementation of different subsidy scenarios directly affects the forecasted composition of the vehicle population and, therefore, the resulting life-cycle assessment. All scenarios compensate the additional emissions required by the production pull-in within the considered period and, hence, reduce the accumulated CO2 emissions until 2030. In the time period 2019–2030 and for a total number of 0.72 million subsidized vehicles—compensating the decrease due to the COVID-19 pandemic—savings of between 1.31 and 7.56 million t CO2 eq. are generated compared to the scenario without a subsidy. The exclusive funding of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is most effective, with an ecological break-even in 2025.