Review and meta-analysis of EVs : Embodied emissions and environmental breakeven
Loading...
Access rights
openAccess
URL
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
A2 Katsausartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
This publication is imported from Aalto University research portal.
View publication in the Research portal (opens in new window)
View/Open full text file from the Research portal (opens in new window)
Other link related to publication (opens in new window)
View publication in the Research portal (opens in new window)
View/Open full text file from the Research portal (opens in new window)
Other link related to publication (opens in new window)
Date
2020-11-11
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Language
en
Pages
32
1-32
1-32
Series
Sustainability (Switzerland), Volume 12, issue 22
Abstract
Electric vehicles (EVs) are often considered a potential solution to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions originating from personal transport vehicles, but this has also been questioned due to their high production emissions. In this study, we performed an extensive literature review of existing EV life-cycle assessments (LCAs) and a meta-analysis of the studies in the review, extracting life-cycle GHG emission data combined with a standardized methodology for estimating GHG electrical grid intensities across the European Economic Area (EEA), which were used to estimate a set of environmental breakeven points for each EEA country. A Monte Carlo simulation was performed to provide sensitivity analysis. The results of the review suggest a need for greater methodological and data transparency within EV LCA research. The meta-analysis found a subset of countries across the EEA where there is a potential that EVs could lead to greater life-cycle GHG emissions than a comparable diesel counterpart. A policy discussion highlights how EV policies in countries with contrasting GHG electric grid intensities may not reflect the current techno-environmental reality. This paper emphasizes the importance for researchers to accurately depict life-cycle vehicle emissions and the need for EEA countries to enact policies corresponding to their respective contextual conditions to avoid potentially enacting policies that could lead to greater GHG emissions.Description
Keywords
E-mobility, Electric vehicles, Environmental breakeven, EV LCA, Life cycle analysis, Meta-analysis
Other note
Citation
Dillman, K J, Árnadóttir, Á, Heinonen, J, Czepkiewicz, M & Davíðsdóttir, B 2020, ' Review and meta-analysis of EVs : Embodied emissions and environmental breakeven ', Sustainability (Switzerland), vol. 12, no. 22, 9390 . https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229390