The future air quality impact of electric vehicle promotion and coordinated charging in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

Abstract

The synergetic benefit of air quality improvements together with greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigations from fleet electrification can be maximized if the power used for electric vehicles (EVs) is from renewables. The worth-noting mismatch between renewable power generation and EV fleet charging demand requires appropriate coordination strategy. Here, we analyze the environmental benefits from increased EVs penetration in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) regions by integrating various scenarios of fleet electrification with coordinated charging strategies to examine the air quality improvement and GHG abatement. The study found that fleet electrification could bring substantial reduction on urban PM2.5 in BTH, especially in December by 0.8 ± 0.5 μg/m3. The coordinated charging strategy could further improve the air quality in BTH, albeit smaller than that of fleet electrification itself. PM2.5 reduction benefit from EV adoption could be significantly more pronouncing when ammonia emission reduction was considered, by more than 0.3 μg/m3 in both December and July, validating the great significance of vehicle NH3 emission control and the necessity of prioritizing the electrification of high ammonia emitting fleet. The outcome of this study helps to formulate the effective on-road transportation pollutant abatement strategies and offers technological support for policy makers to conduct more sensible sequence of future fleet electrification process.