LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Abstract

Earlier, vehicles and fossil fuels were so closely linked that electric vehicles could acquire only a small section of the transportation industry. However, for the last few years, this trend has changed due to various circumstances and hence, created vast opportunities to boost up the market of electric mobility. The factors which provided a way for electric mobility are climatic changes, progress in renewable sources of energy, energy security, fast urbanization, battery chemistry, etc. The developed as well as developing economies, all have incorporated EVs in their policies for reducing their carbon footprint as well as providing clean mobility. In India, a variety of vehicles are used in road transportation which provides ample scope for their replacement with electric vehicles. The goal of the government's emphasis on attaining energy security for the nation is to decrease import dependency, which includes utilization of fossil fuels. The need for alternative fuels which are eco-friendly and economically viable as compared to fossil fuels, has been spurred due to dependence on imports for fuel demands as well as environmental concerns. This envisions biofuels playing a vital role in India's energy mix. In this dissertation, the life cycle assessment of electric vehicles is studied. Under the present dissertation work, based on the previous work done on electric vehicles, LCA has been studied for the electric vehicle. This study compares the LCA of instances related to ICEV (“Internal combustion engine vehicle”), BEV (“Battery electric vehicle”), PHEV (“Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle”) and FCEV (“Fuel cell electric vehicle”). Over the past decade, many researchers have emphasized on the use of eco-friendly and sustainable sources of energy such as biofuels. The increased demand oconventional fuels has driven the researchers to explore other substitutes like biodiesel. So, this study also includes LCA of algal biodiesel which has been used as the combustion fuel for comparing WTW (Well to wheel) results for ICEV and PHEV.