Electric mobility is promoted as a future transport option that has environmental and economic benefits and encourages sustainable urban transportation. The aim of this study is to reveal the changes in environmental and economic performance if we switched from internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) to battery electric (BEV) or hybrid electric (HEV) vehicles. Therefore, this research presents a comparative environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) from the Cradle-to-Grave perspective of the vehicles and a Well-to-Wheel analysis of their fuel supply. Moreover, an LCA of a BEV was performed under diverse electricity mix scenarios, which are forecasted for 2015–2050 in Lithuania. From an economic point of view, a life cycle costing was conducted for the same vehicles to estimate the economic impacts over the vehicle life cycles under Lithuanian conditions. The results show that ICEV-petrol contributes the major environmental damage in all damage categories. BEVs with the electricity mix of 2020–2050 scenarios, which are composed mainly of renewable energy sources, provide the least environmental impact. The economic results reveal that BEV and ICEV-diesel are the most cost-efficient vehicles, with the total consumer life cycle costs of approximately 5% and 15% less than ICEV-petrol and HEV, respectively.
The decarbonization of the mobility and energy sector is one of the major necessary trends for achieving targets set for the European Union (EU) in the 2020 and 2030 climate and energy frameworks. Two key technologies which offer great potential for climate change mitigation are electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energies (REs). Thus, there is the need for innovative and stable policies in order to favor these technologies. The purpose of the study is to identify and compare features of policies for the integration of EVs, REs, and information and communication technology (ICT). This study uses an integrated Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT), and Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal (PESTEL) qualitative methodology in order to show different policies and initiatives, related to e-mobility, RE and ICT, collected from five European regions. This research provides discernments to the EVs and RE challenges, such as the lack of capacity to deal with high energy demands or limited EV-charging infrastructure. On the contrary, a high percentage of REs share, raising climate change awareness, and decreasing EV prices which are great opportunities for the whole EU. Such insights encourage policymakers and other groups of interest to improve their RE and mobility policies, which could lead to effective sustainable mobility systems in urban areas.Sustainability 2020, 12, 2935 2 of 21 vehicles (EVs) and renewable energies (REs). Therefore, it is important to co-develop a framework of experiences and policies where energy and mobility will work together and not act as different entities. For this reason, the INTERREG EUROPE EV ENERGY (Electric Vehicles for City Renewable Energy Supply) project consortium was created. The partners from five European regions (Italy, Lithuania, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands) have identified a need for a common framework and repository of interrelated and analyzed policies and initiatives to lay the basis for systematic interregional dissemination. The majority of the partners have gained experience in analyzing opportunities and developing actions and policies. This research provides insight into the EV and RE challenges and opportunities within the European Region project partners.Registrations of new electric cars in 2017 reached over 1 million sales worldwide; as a result, the global stock exceeded 3 million electric cars in 2017 [4]. That notwithstanding, EVs will be even more advantageous if electricity is generated by RE sources [5,6]. The implementation growth of support schemes for RE technology and decreasing costs of RE systems made a positive impact in the consumption of RE [7]. The share of RE in gross final energy consumption reached 18.9% in 2018 (from 8.5% in 2004). Moreover, the transport sector increased the share of RE to 8.3% in 2018RE to 8.3% in , compared to 3.1% in 2007. Smart charging applications could also boost the share of RE used to charge the EVs; in particular, wind and solar energy is becoming an importan...
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.