A new report from independent research and business intelligence company Rystad Energy says that electric vehicles (EVs) are the clear winners when trying to reduce emissions in the transportation sector.
Although the manufacture of EVs incurs higher emissions compared with petrol or diesel vehicles – worsened by the reliance of many countries on ‘dirty’ fossil fuel generated power – Rystad Energy’s analysis shows that battery-powered vehicles contribute at most half the carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) of diesel or petrol cars across their lifecycle, regardless of the country of operation.
Rystad noted that in countries where the power grid is dominated by fossil fuels, battery-powered cars emit less CO2e than internal combustion engine (ICE) cars over their lifecycle. As renewable sources replace coal and gas-fired generation, emissions related to the operation of BEVs could drop by 86%.
Mike Manners, Managing Director of CBVC Vehicle Management, added:
‘For companies considering the Environmental, Social and Governance agenda, switching fleets to electric vehicles must be part of that strategy, as indeed it should be for companies considering introducing the employee benefit of salary sacrifice. EVs make sense for company car drivers because of the low benefit in kind tax; through salary sacrifice they enable staff to drive an EV at a lower cost than if they were to drive the same car personally; and, perhaps more importantly, contribute to helping clear pollution from the environment.‘
The research considered every stage of the lifecycle between EV and ICE vehicle emissions in the manufacturing process and the vehicle’s operation.
This included the manufacturing of the vehicle’s body, powertrain assembly, maintenance, fuel and electricity-related emissions and production of the battery.
Under Rydal Energy’s base case scenario for power generation in China in the next 20 years, the lifecycle emissions of an EV are about 39 tonnes of CO2e versus almost 85 tonnes for an ICE vehicle. The difference in the US is even starker the report continued: here an EV emits 42 tonnes of CO2e across its life, which is 58% lower than a petrol or diesel vehicle that emits more than 100 tonnes.
Abhishek Murali, Senior Clean Tech Analyst, Rystad Energy, said: “Overall, battery electric vehicles are clearly the right technology to reduce emissions in the transportation sector. Switching to an EV will reduce long-term emissions despite a larger environmental impact at the beginning of the vehicle’s life. Contrary to some claims, electric car adoption is not a fool’s errand; it will slash emissions in the long run and accelerate the energy transition.”
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