Multi-criteria alternative-fuel technology selection using interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets

- A multi-expert & multi-criteria method using interval-valued IFS (IVIFS) is proposed.
- IVIFS are first time used for the alternative-fuel vehicle selection problem.
- The proposed method is applied to a utility company facing this problem in the USA.
- Detailed sensitivity and scenario analyses are given in the application section.
- The analyses are enhanced by three dimensional and radar graphs.

Fleet operators periodically update and upgrade their vehicles in order to take opportunity of new technologies. Alternative-fuel vehicles provide opportunities to lower fuel costs as well as to reduce environmental footprint. Decision on alternative-fuel vehicle adoption is a challenging problem for fleet operators in today's technological and market development level. This paper focuses on the alternative-fuel technology selection problem of a utility company in the USA. The paper develops a multi-expert, multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) method based on interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IVIFS) with linguistic data, and finds that the best fit for the utility company is an extended-range natural gas vehicle.