Electric car life cycle assessment based on real-world mileage and the electric conversion scenario

PurposeWhile almost all life cycle assessment (LCA) studies published so far are based on generic vehicles, type approval energy consumption as well as emission data, and application scenarios related to standardized laboratory-based driving cycles, this projects aims at quantifying the LCA based on a real-world vehicle composition and energy consumption data measured before and after the electric conversion of a mini class car. Furthermore, consequences of a second life of a vehicle’s glider on the environmental impact were investigated.MethodsAfter having driven 100,000 km, a Smart was converted from combustion to electric in a laboratory project. The inventory was developed grounded upon materials data from laboratory measurements during the conversion process as well as on real-world energy consumption data prior and after the conversion. Three base models are compared in this life cycle impact assessment: a conventional new Smart (combustion engine), a new electric Smart, and a Smart converted from combustion engine to electric. Together with two sensitivity analyses (four different electricity mixes as well as urban vs. mixed driving conditions) and two EOL treatments, 36 scenarios have been quantified. The inventory is based on Ecoinvent database v 2.2 as a background system and includes raw material extraction.Results and discussionIn urban use, the modeled battery electric vehicle has a favorable environmental impact compared to the ICEV even when charged with the German electricity mix of the year 2013. The advantage in summed up endpoints of the converted Smart is 23 % vs. the new electric Smart on average for the mixed driving conditions and 26 % for the urban driving conditions, respectively. Over a variety of impact categories, electricity consumption during battery cell production in China as well as impacts due to microelectronic components dominated the life cycle. Results for 18 midpoint categories, endpoints for damages to human health, to resource quality and to ecosystem quality as well as the Single score endpoints are reported.ConclusionsThis investigation points out that real-world treatments in inventory development can more specifically outline the environmental advantages of the electric car. The electric conversion of a used combustion engine vehicle can save an additional 16 % (CO2-eq) and 19 % (single score endpoints) of the environmental impact over a lifetime, respectively, when compared with the new BEV.

[1]  Kari Heiskanen,et al.  Metal recycling: opportunities, limits, infrastructure , 2012 .

[2]  Pai-Chun Tao,et al.  Potential economic and environmental advantages of lithium-ion battery manufacturing using geothermal energy in Iceland , 2011 .

[3]  Christopher B. Field,et al.  Climate Change 2014 , 2015 .

[4]  Achim Kampker,et al.  Roadmap Batterie-Produktionsmittel 2030 , 2014 .

[5]  Anders Hammer Strømman,et al.  Life cycle environmental assessment of lithium-ion and nickel metal hydride batteries for plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles. , 2011, Environmental science & technology.

[6]  Andrew Harrison,et al.  A new comparison between the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of battery electric vehicles and internal combustion vehicles , 2012 .

[7]  Jeremy J. Michalek,et al.  Influence of driving patterns on life cycle cost and emissions of hybrid and plug-in electric vehicle powertrains , 2013 .

[8]  S. Dusmez,et al.  Comprehensive Topological Analysis of Conductive and Inductive Charging Solutions for Plug-In Electric Vehicles , 2012, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology.

[9]  Marcel Gauch,et al.  Electric passenger car transport and passenger car life cycle inventories in ecoinvent version 3 , 2016, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[10]  Hans Joachim Schellnhuber,et al.  World in transition: a social contract for sustainability , 2011 .

[11]  M. Abtew,et al.  Lead-free Solders in Microelectronics , 2000 .

[12]  Hans-Jörg Althaus,et al.  Traffic noise in LCA , 2009 .

[13]  Amany von Oehsen,et al.  Langfristszenarien und Strategien für den Ausbau der erneuerbaren Energien in Deutschland bei Berücksichtigung der Entwicklung in Europa und global , 2012 .

[14]  T. Graedel,et al.  Global in-use stocks of the rare Earth elements: a first estimate. , 2011, Environmental science & technology.

[15]  Hans-Jörg Althaus,et al.  eLCAr - Guidelines for the LCA of electric vehicles , 2013 .

[16]  Joeri Van Mierlo,et al.  A Range-Based Vehicle Life Cycle Assessment Incorporating Variability in the Environmental Assessment of Different Vehicle Technologies and Fuels , 2014 .

[17]  Hans-Jörg Althaus,et al.  Traffic noise in LCA , 2009 .

[18]  Y. Kalmykova,et al.  Resource consumption drivers and pathways to reduction: economy, policy and lifestyle impact on material flows at the national and urban scale , 2016 .

[19]  Joeri Van Mierlo,et al.  Environmental impacts of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles—what can we learn from life cycle assessment? , 2014, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[20]  Hans Joachim Schellnhuber,et al.  World in Transition , 2005 .

[21]  Simon Buckle,et al.  Mitigation of climate change , 2009, The Daunting Climate Change.

[22]  Troy R. Hawkins,et al.  Comparative Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Conventional and Electric Vehicles , 2013 .

[23]  Charlos Potma,et al.  Noise reduction by electric vehicles in the Netherlands , 2012 .

[24]  L. Brown,et al.  Burden of disease from environmental noise: Quantification of healthy life years lost in Europe , 2011 .

[25]  Marco Frey,et al.  Comparison between hydrogen and electric vehicles by life cycle assessment: A case study in Tuscany, Italy , 2011 .

[26]  Bernhard Kern,et al.  Comprehensive Gasoline Exhaust Gas Aftertreatment, an Effective Measure to Minimize the Contribution of Modern Direct Injection Engines to Fine Dust and Soot Emissions? , 2014 .

[27]  E Helmers,et al.  Bewertung der Umwelteffizienz moderner Autoantriebe – auf dem Weg vom Diesel-Pkw-Boom zu Elektroautos , 2010 .

[28]  David C. Carslaw,et al.  New insights from comprehensive on-road measurements of NOx, NO2 and NH3 from vehicle emission remote sensing in London, UK , 2013 .

[29]  Dirk Bosteels,et al.  Exhaust Emissions from European Market-Available Passenger Cars Evaluated on Various Drive Cycles , 2013 .

[30]  Horst Mettlach,et al.  HELIOS—High Energy Lithium Ion Storage Solutions: Comparative Assessment of 4 Chemistries of Cathode for EV and PHEV Applications , 2015 .

[31]  E. Helmers,et al.  Critical evaluation of the European diesel car boom - global comparison, environmental effects and various national strategies , 2013, Environmental Sciences Europe.

[32]  Eckard Helmers.  Possible Resource Restrictions for the Future Large-Scale Production of Electric Cars , 2015 .

[33]  Daniel Hahn,et al.  Complexity, quality and robustness - the challenges of tomorrow's automotive electronics , 2012, 2012 Design, Automation & Test in Europe Conference & Exhibition (DATE).

[34]  Armin Schnettler,et al.  Regional assessment of local emissions of electric vehicles using traffic simulations for a use case in Germany , 2012, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[35]  A. Andrae,et al.  Life cycle assessment of integrated circuit packaging technologies , 2011 .

[36]  Rolf Frischknecht,et al.  Life cycle assessment of electric mobility: answers and challenges—Zurich, April 6, 2011 , 2011 .

[37]  E. Helmers,et al.  Electric cars: technical characteristics and environmental impacts , 2012, Environmental Sciences Europe.

[38]  Anders Hammer Strømman,et al.  Environmental impacts of hybrid and electric vehicles—a review , 2012, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[39]  D. O M I N I,et al.  Contribution of Li-Ion Batteries to the Environmental Impact of Electric Vehicles , 2010 .

[40]  Yim Ling Siu,et al.  The energy and water nexus in Chinese electricity production: A hybrid life cycle analysis , 2014 .

[41]  Hans-Jörg Althaus,et al.  Part 1: state-of-science and requirement profile for consistent context-sensitive integration of traffic noise in LCA , 2009 .

[42]  Jeremy J. Michalek,et al.  Development of a Simulation Model to Analyze the Effect of Thermal Management on Battery Life , 2012 .