CO2 Mitigation Potential of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles larger than expected - PubMed (original) (raw)

CO2 Mitigation Potential of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles larger than expected

P Plötz et al. Sci Rep. 2017.

Abstract

The actual contribution of plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles (PHEV and BEV) to greenhouse gas mitigation depends on their real-world usage. Often BEV are seen as superior as they drive only electrically and do not have any direct emissions during driving. However, empirical evidence on which vehicle electrifies more mileage with a given battery capacity is lacking. Here, we present the first systematic overview of empirical findings on actual PHEV and BEV usage for the US and Germany. Contrary to common belief, PHEV with about 60 km of real-world range currently electrify as many annual vehicles kilometres as BEV with a much smaller battery. Accordingly, PHEV recharged from renewable electricity can highly contribute to green house gas mitigation in car transport. Including the higher CO2eq emissions during the production phase of BEV compared to PHEV, PHEV show today higher CO2eq savings then BEVs compared to conventional vehicles. However, for significant CO2eq improvements of PHEV and particularly of BEVs the decarbonisation of the electricity system should go on.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Real-world utility factors of PHEV in the US (squares) and Germany (circles) with different AER. Shown are mean values per PHEV model sorted by increasing AER with the symbol size indicating the size of the sample as well as a sample size weighted local regression (shaded area). We use EPA AER for US models and 75% NEDC AER for German models.

Figure 2

Figure 2

Average electrified annual kilometres for different PHEV (green) and BEV (red) models from the US (squares) and Germany (circles). The shaded areas are sample size weighted local smoothers (95% confidence bands).

Figure 3

Figure 3

Overall distribution of daily VKT for a large daily driving data set. Also shown are the annual electrified VKT by BEV and PHEV with typical ranges as shaded areas under the curve.

Figure 4

Figure 4

Lifecycle advantages of CO2eq emissions from PHEV and BEV compared to conventional vehicles on an absolute scale and relative to battery capacity.

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