LCA Based Estimation of Environmental Effects of the Global Electric Vehicles Fleet - Facts&Figures from the IEA Technology Collaboration Program on Hybrid&Electric Vehicles

Abstract

There is an international consensus that the environmental effect of electric vehicles can only be assessed with life cycle assessment (LCA) including production, operation and end of life treatment. Since 2011 a group of international experts working on the LCA of Electric Vehicles in the Technical Collaboration Program on “Hybrid&Electric Vehicles of the International Energy Agency (IEA), continuously estimates the environmental effects of the growing worldwide electric vehicle fleet (BEV, PHEV), currently of about 1.3 million in 35 countries. The environmental effects assessed for electric vehicles are greenhouse gas emissions, acidification, ozone formation, particle matter emissions and primary energy consumption compared to the substituted conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. The global assessment shows substantial environmental improvements, e.g. 25% to 30%GHG-reduction, 40% to 50% PM reduction, 50% to 60% ozone reduction, 15% to 20% total primary energy reduction. The broad estimated range of environmental effects are mainly due to variation in the emissions of national electricity production, the electricity consumption of the EV fleet in daily real driving conditions, and the fuel consumption of substituted conventional ICEs.