Energy consumption and CO2 emissions evaluation for electric and internal combustion vehicles using a LCA approach

Abstract

The demand for Electric Vehicles (EVs) has increased during the last years, especially after the peak oil prices experienced in the year 2008. In spite of, in general, EVs being associated to a cleaner and more efficient mobility, the benefits of substituting conventional Internal Combustion Vehicles (ICVs) by EVs must be evaluated. In this regard, in the present paper, it is compared the energy consumption and CO2 emissions of two different vehicles technologies, an EV equipped with lithium-ion battery and a gasoline ICV. The evaluation is performed according to a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, making use of a parametric model developed in a Microsoft Excel platform. The results of the evaluation performed show that, for the different scenarios assumed, the EV is the one that presents the lower LCA energy consumption and CO2 emissions.