Transport electrification at all environmental costs? The case of large passenger duty-vehicles

Abstract

Electrification is often highlighted as the future for transportation sector as it is considered as a zero-tailpipe emission. However, environmental impacts related to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) exist. The aim of this article is to identify the trade-off between batteries’ weight and vehicle’s autonomy from an environmental perspective in the BEVs’ development as electrified mobility will consume more critical materials but reducing tailpipe emissions. Thus, a focus on climate change and resources has been done using a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. Large vehicles (D-segment) for BEVs and their fossil thermic counterparts have been assessed for two time horizons (2019, 2030) in Europe. Our linear programming world energy-transport model, TIAM-IFPEN, has been used in order to assess demand and import dependency on materials through to 2050. Results show that BEVs can generate higher impacts than their inherent conventional ones and that criticality assessment should be done in order to get a complete view of BEVs’ deployment.