The air quality benefits of electric vehicles’ adoption in the short food supply chain

Abstract

Concerns continue to rise about environmental sustainability and the impacts of traditional transportation systems. Exploring alternative solutions therefore becomes imperative. This paper aims to investigate the potential advantages of integrating battery electric vehicles into the agricultural short food supply chain with a specific focus on air quality improvements. In order to reach the research goal, this study gives a thorough and comparative environmental analysis based on a real-world test conducted under the EnerNETMob project financed by the InterregMed programme, in contrast to other studies that primarily relied on general parameters and simulations. This study illustrated that using an electric vehicle (EV), like the Nissan e-NV200, for short-distance transportation of agri-food products is not an environmentally sustainable solution instead of using a petrol-powered vehicle. However, as the distance travelled increases, the environmental impact of electric vehicles diminishes, surpassing that of internal combustion vehicles. This study holds significant theoretical, practical and policy implications that are worth considering.