Life cycle assessment of mid-range passenger cars powered by liquid and gaseous biofuels: Comparison with greenhouse gas emissions of electric vehicles and forecast to 2030

Abstract

• Biofuels can provide significant GHG emissions benefits in a short period of time. • The current trend to increase the size of batteries is detrimental to GHG impacts. • With an adapted battery size, PHEVs seem to be another relevant solution. • Electrification and biofuels can together reach the European Green Deal targets. Electrification of the transport sector is a relevant measure to decarbonize, but the massive electrification approach can be questioned since another interesting low-carbon solutions are available. Current and future forecast comparative analysis of the greenhouse gas emissions of mid-range passenger cars, obtained using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, are presented. Two important factors are addressed by assessing the use of biofuels suitable for internal combustion engines (including bio natural gas vehicles) and forecasting the LCA results in 2030 with updated vehicle weight, battery technology, and CO 2 electricity content. The synthesis shows that conventional engines powered with biofuels complement electrified powertrains. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles seem to be the ideal solution owing to the limited size of their batteries. The current trend of expanding the battery size to improve the range of electric vehicles is detrimental to greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts. Biofuels can provide significant GHG emission benefits in a short time as vehicle powertrains can already accommodate up to 85% ethanol or 100% biodiesel without engine changes.