Marco Piras

Marco Piras


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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20 May 2023 in Energy Conversion and Management
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
MPMarco Piras
Marco Piras
VBV. De Bellis
V. De Bellis
Enrica MalfiEnrica Malfi
Enrica Malfi
Ricardo NovellaRicardo Novella
Ricardo Novella
Marcos Lopez-JuarezMarcos Lopez-Juarez
Marcos Lopez-Juarez

5 January 2024 in Applied Energy
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
MPMarco Piras
Marco Piras
VBVincenzo De Bellis
Vincenzo De Bellis
Enrica MalfiEnrica Malfi
Enrica Malfi
Ricardo NovellaRicardo Novella
Ricardo Novella
Marcos Lopez-JuarezMarcos Lopez-Juarez
Marcos Lopez-Juarez

28 November 2023 in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
MPMarco Piras
Marco Piras
VBVincenzo De Bellis
Vincenzo De Bellis
Enrica MalfiEnrica Malfi
Enrica Malfi
JDJose M. Desantes
Jose M. Desantes
Ricardo NovellaRicardo Novella
Ricardo Novella
Marcos Lopez-JuarezMarcos Lopez-Juarez
Marcos Lopez-Juarez


21 October 2025 in Energies
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
MCMaria Antonietta Costagliola
Maria Antonietta Costagliola
Luca MarchittoLuca Marchitto
Luca Marchitto
MPMarco Piras
Marco Piras
ABAlessandra Berra
Alessandra Berra
In line with EU decarbonization targets for the heavy-duty transport sector, this study proposes an analytical methodology to assess the impact of diesel performance additives on fuel consumption in Euro 6 heavy-duty vehicles, the prevailing standard in the circulating European road tractor fleet. A fleet of five N3-category road tractors equipped with tanker semi-trailers was monitored over two phases. During the first 10-month baseline phase, the vehicles operated with standard EN 590 diesel (containing 6–7% FAME); in the second phase, they used a commercially available premium diesel containing performance-enhancing additives. Fuel consumption and route data were collected using a GPS-based system interfaced with the engine control unit via the OBD port and integrated with the fleet tracking platform. After applying data filtering to exclude low-quality or non-representative trips, a 1% reduction in fuel consumption was observed with the use of fuel with additives. Route-level analysis revealed higher savings (up to 5.1%) in high-load operating conditions, while most trips showed improvements between −1.6% and −3.4%. Temporal analysis confirmed the general trend across varying vehicle usage patterns. Aggregated fleet-level data proved to be the most robust approach to mitigate statistical variability. To evaluate the potential impact at scale, a European scenario was developed: a 1% reduction in fuel consumption across the 6.75 million heavy-duty vehicles in the EU could yield annual savings of 2 billion liters of diesel and avoid approximately 6 million tons of CO2 emissions. Even partial adoption could lead to meaningful environmental benefits. Alongside emissions reductions, fuel additives also offer economic value by lowering operating costs, improving engine efficiency, and reducing maintenance needs.