The lifecycle emissions from battery electric cars are around four times less that of traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, a new report by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has found.
According to the ICCT’s findings, which compared the lifecycle analysis of ICE vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), BEV’s produce 73% lower lifecycle emissions than gasoline cars.
If powered solely by renewable energy, BEVs have 78% lower lifecycle emissions than ICE vehicles, at 52 g CO2e/km.
Lifecycle emissions
The analysis includes emissions from vehicle and battery production, fuel and electricity generation, use-phase consumption, and end-of-life recycling. BEVs typically have about 40% higher emissions during production, due to battery manufacturing, however this is offset after approximately 17,000 kilometres of use.
Improvements to the EU’s electricity grid have led to improvements in BEV lifecycle emissions, the ICCT noted, with emissions now 24% lower compared to its 2021 findings.
PHEVs, meanwhile have lifecycle emissions around 30% lower than ICE vehicles, while HEVs offer a 20% reduction, on average. FCEVs can have low life-cycle emissions, but only if they use hydrogen sources from renewable electricity.
Elsewhere, diesel vehicles have lifecycle emissions almost equal to those of petrol-powered cars, while natural gas powered vehicles have emissions 13% lower.
BEVs lead the way
‘When running on the EU average fuel and electricity mix, only BEVs offer a large-scale reduction in life-cycle GHG emissions,’ the ICCT said. ‘To achieve a similar emissions reduction potential, FCEVs would need to be restricted to the use of renewable electricity-based hydrogen.
‘For ICEVs, HEVs, and PHEVs, meanwhile, the development of the average mix of fossil fuels and biofuels that can be expected from current policies and market developments would not allow vehicles of these powertrain types to meet EU climate targets. While vehicles running solely on e-fuels could, in theory, achieve life-cycle GHG emissions similar to BEVs, the future availability of e-fuels for the road sector is uncertain while costs are expected to remain high.’ Read more here.
