Electric vehicles in Portugal: An integrated energy, greenhouse gas and cost life-cycle analysis

摘要

Electric vehicles are been proposed as a more sustainable option for transportation; however, the life-cycle environmental and economic performance of electric vehicles (EVs) relatively to conventional internal combustion vehicles (ICE) is controversial. This paper presents an integrated energy, GHG and cost life-cycle analysis of electric vehicles for Portugal. A life-cycle model and inventory has been implemented for 2 EV technologies: 100% electric battery (BEV) and plugin (PHEV40 and PHEV20) vehicles, which have been compared with conventional ICE vehicles (gasoline and diesel), for two types of vehicles (subcompact and compact). Primary energy requirements, GHG emissions and costs per km have been calculated and compared for the various technologies and scenarios. Life-cycle costs have been calculated using the equivalent annual cost method, assuming two alternative interest rates (5% and 10%) and two prices for electricity. The results show that, for energy and GHG emissions, the most important life-cycle phase is vehicle operation; however, for life-cycle economic costs it is the acquisition price of vehicles. Concerning climate change, it has been found that the evolution of the Portuguese electricity generation mix is critical in the identification of the vehicle technology with lower impacts.