Abstract
Light electric vehicles (LEVs) facilitate a significant reduction in global warming potential (GWP) and other environmental impacts related to specific transport performance due to their lightweight construction. Low-voltage systems in the drive engine, an open vehicle design and online vehicle data processing allow LEVs to be repaired by independent workshops, thus enabling long vehicle use as well as conversion or retrofitting for periods of use beyond 20 years. LEVs are not yet very common in everyday life in Western Europe. In order to support the acceptance of muscle power-supported LEVs in the EU L7e registration class by users, the vehicle design and construction specifically address requirements in the areas of last-mile parcel delivery and other transport services, including passenger transport. Life cycle assessment was used to investigate two construction methods for LEVs, mixed construction and fibre composite construction, in terms of the production, service life phase and end of life. A vehicle configuration was developed which, in addition to resource-saving production and long-life operation, enables easy access for users and maintenance of the LEV for various purposes. The resource efficiency of light electric vehicles was proven with regard to the ecological aspects. The vehicle design shown here shows high potential for LEVs in the circular economy.
Highlights
The use of energy today, in the form of burned fuels in road-bound passenger and freight transport, is nearly constant in relation to 1995, with a slight increase of 7% in2019 [1]
In the cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) model, landfilling was selected for the end of life of the fibre composite components, as no primary or secondary data were available on the recycling of fibre composites and landfilling or storage at the end of their life was, assumed to be the practice
The use of fibre composites in vehicle construction has significant environmental impacts at the end of their life according to the EDIP 2003 indicator in comparison with conventional electric vehicles (EVs) (Figure 6)
Summary
The use of energy today, in the form of burned fuels in road-bound passenger and freight transport, is nearly constant in relation to 1995, with a slight increase of 7% in2019 [1]. The use of energy today, in the form of burned fuels in road-bound passenger and freight transport, is nearly constant in relation to 1995, with a slight increase of 7% in. Further increases and the potential reduction in environmental impact have been identified for LEV freight transport in the “last mile” and trades [5]. Road-bound traffic density for the transport of goods and people in the “last mile” with conventional vehicles and conventional EVs has an increasingly negative impact on the quality of life in urban areas, due to particulate matter emissions from brakes and tires, noise and land use. Specific to EVs is a strong relation between vehicle mass and energy consumption, because of the good efficiency of electric machines [6]
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