Abstract
Electric vehicles are becoming popular among consumers while BS-VI norms have been introduced and mandated for conventional vehicles in India. In the present study, the environmental impacts from the use phase of electric two-wheeler (EV) and gasoline two-wheeler (GV) have been evaluated and compared using the life cycle assessment (LCA) perspective. The functional unit adopted was 1000 km driven by one vehicle under Indian road and traffic conditions. CML 2001 and ReCiPe 2016 methods were used for the assessment using GaBi 10.6 software tool. The scope of the study was limited to the use phase of two-wheelers. The study considered a total of six impact categories viz. Abiotic Depletion (ADP) fossil, Acidification Potential (AP), Global Warming Potential (GWP), Human Toxicity Potential (HTP), Terrestrial Ecotoxicity Potential (TETP) and Fine Particulate Matter Formation (PMF). The study found that EV had higher environmental impacts on five impact categories while GV had a higher impact on just one (ADP fossil) impact category. The results demonstrated that the use phase of EVs is not as environmentally preferable as it appears, mainly due to the apportioned impacts of electricity obtained from the typical grid in India for EVs charging. In this study, two improvement scenarios (S-1 & S-2) for EV were also proposed for a possible reduction in impacts. Scenario S-1 constituted the use of 50% electricity generated from photovoltaics (solar panels) to charge the EVs, which offered significant reductions of ~47% in the overall environmental impacts. Similarly, scenario S-2 constituted the use of 50% electricity provided by a waste-to-energy plant to charge the EVs, which offered significant reductions of ~40% in the overall environmental impacts. It may be concluded that the use of renewable source(s) for generating electricity will make EVs more environmentally preferable. This study will help policymakers and concerned authorities to make transportation in India more sustainable by minimizing the impacts on the environment.
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