Analysis of the carbon footprint of electric vehicles in relation to their life cycle

Abstract

In order to determine the environmental impact of electric vehicles (EVs), a comparative analysis was made between the CO2 emissions of internal combustion vehicles (ICEs) during their entire life cycle and the emissions of electric vehicles. This study sought to have a more realistic perspective. For this purpose, the life cycle of both types of vehicles was divided into three phases, calculating the kg of CO2 emitted during each of them. The results showed the significant difference in CO2 emissions generated by both types of vehicles, with ICVs generating 32,492 kg of CO2 more than EVs with NCM lithium-ion batteries and 32,403.7 kg of CO2 for those with LFP batteries. Once the analysis was done, it was determined that EVs are an appropriate response to the environmental crisis that the world is currently facing.