Review article

https://doi.org/10.31803/tg-20220407135956

Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Electric Cars - A Comprehensive Evaluation

Mario Hirz orcid.org/0000-0002-4502-4255 ; Institute of Automotive Engineering, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 11/2, 8010 Graz, Austria
Helmut Brunner ; Institute of Automotive Engineering, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 11/2, 8010 Graz, Austria
Thu Trang Nguyen ; Institute of Automotive Engineering, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 11/2, 8010 Graz, Austria

Abstract

As an important trend in the automotive industry, electrification of propulsion systems has potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions of the transportation sector. Whereas electric vehicles do not produce exhaust emissions during driving, the impact of electricity provision for charging the batteries as well as the impact of vehicle production play an essential role in a holistic consideration of the carbon footprint. The paper introduces a comprehensive evaluation of greenhouse gas emission-related factors of battery-electric cars, considering the entire product life cycle. This comprises vehicle production, including battery system, electric powertrain and other relevant components, the car’s use phase under consideration of different electricity mixes, user patterns and the end-of-life phase. The results of the study can serve as a basis for comparison with the characteristics of cars driven by conventional propulsion systems and allow a detailed discussion of the different technologies, especially under consideration of future development trends.

Keywords

electric cars; greenhouse gas emissions; life cycle assessment; production technologies; technology evaluation

Hrčak ID:

276162

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/276162

Publication date:

8.5.2022.

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