Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology International
  • News
    • A-F
      • Battery Technology
      • Buses & Commercial Vehicles
      • Charging Technology
      • Concept Vehicle
      • Electrification Strategies
      • Fuel-cell Technology
    • G-K
      • Hybrid Powertrain
      • Hybrid/electric Architecture
      • ICE Hybrids
      • Industry News
      • Joint Ventures
    • L-Q
      • Manufacturing
      • Materials Research
      • Motor Technology
      • Motorsport Electrification
      • NVH
      • OEM News
      • Powertrain Components
      • Pure-electric Powertrain
    • R-Z
      • Range Extender
      • Solid-state Battery Technology
      • Testing
      • Transmissions
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    • March 2025
    • November/December 2024
    • July 2024
    • March 2024
    • November 2023
    • July 2023
    • March 2023
    • Archive Issues
    • Subscribe Free!
  • Technical Articles
  • Opinion
  • Videos
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Webinars
  • Events
LinkedIn YouTube X (Twitter)
Subscribe to Magazine SUBSCRIBE TO EMAIL NEWSLETTER MEDIA PACK
LinkedIn
Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology International
  • News
      • Battery Technology
      • Buses & Commercial Vehicles
      • Charging Technology
      • Concept Vehicle
      • Electrification Strategies
      • Fuel-cell Technology
      • Hybrid Powertrain
      • Hybrid/electric Architecture
      • ICE Hybrids
      • Industry News
      • Joint Ventures
      • Manufacturing
      • Materials Research
      • Motor Technology
      • Motorsport Electrification
      • NVH
      • OEM News
      • Powertrain Components
      • Pure-electric Powertrain
      • Range Extender
      • Solid-state Battery Technology
      • Testing
      • Transmissions
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    1. March 2025
    2. November/December 2024
    3. July 2024
    4. March 2024
    5. November 2023
    6. July 2023
    7. March 2023
    8. November 2022
    9. July 2022
    10. Archive Issues
    11. Subscribe Free!
    Featured
    March 24, 2025

    New issue available now! March 2025

    News By Web Team
    Recent

    New issue available now! March 2025

    March 24, 2025

    New issue available now! November/December 2024

    December 2, 2024

    In this issue – July 2024

    July 19, 2024
  • Technical Articles
  • Opinion
  • Videos
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Webinars
  • Events
LinkedIn
Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology International
Industry News

What is the environmental impact of switching to electric cars?

Web TeamBy Web TeamMay 27, 20214 Mins Read
Share LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email

If a ban were introduced on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, and they were replaced by electric cars, the result would be a great reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. That is the finding of new research from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, looking at emissions from the entire life cycle – from the manufacture of electric cars and batteries to electricity used for operation.

However, the total effect of a phasing out of fossil-fueled cars will not be felt until the middle of the century – and how the batteries are manufactured will affect the extent of the benefit.

A rapid and mandatory phasing in of electric cars could cause emissions from Swedish passenger cars’ exhausts to approach zero by 2045. The Swedish government has proposed an outright ban on the sale of new fossil fuel cars from the year 2030 – but that alone will not be enough to achieve Sweden’s climate targets on schedule.

“The lifespan of the cars currently on the roads and those which would be sold before the introduction of such a restriction mean that it would take some time – around 20 years – before the full effect becomes visible,” says Johannes Morfeldt, researcher in Physical Resource Theory at Chalmers University of Technology and lead author of the recently published scientific study.

To have the desired effect, a ban would either need to be introduced earlier, by the year 2025, or, if the ban is not brought in until 2030, then the use of biofuels in petrol and diesel cars needs to increase significantly before then – in accordance with the revised Swedish “reduction obligation”. The combination of these two measures would have the effect of achieving zero emissions from passenger vehicles and keeping to Sweden’s climate targets.

“The results from our study show that rapid electrification of the Swedish car fleet would reduce life cycle emissions, from 14 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2020 to between 3 and 5 million tonnes by the year 2045. The end result in 2045 will depend mainly on the extent to which possible emission reductions in the manufacturing industry are realized,” says Johannes Morfeldt.

A transition from petrol and diesel cars to electric cars will mean an increased demand for batteries. Batteries for electric cars are often criticized, not least for the fact that they result in high levels of greenhouse gas emissions during manufacture.

“There are relatively good opportunities to reduce emissions from global battery manufacturing. Our review of the literature on this shows that average emissions from global battery manufacturing could decrease by about two-thirds per kilowatt hour of battery capacity by the year 2045. However, most battery manufacturing takes place overseas, so Swedish decision-makers have more limited opportunities to influence this question,” said Johannes Morfeldt.

From a climate perspective, it does not matter where the emissions take place, and the risk with decisions taken at a national level for lowering passenger-vehicle emissions is that they could lead to increased emissions elsewhere – a phenomenon sometimes termed ‘carbon leakage’. In this case, the increase in emissions would result from greater demand for batteries, and the risk is thus greater the higher the emissions from battery production.

In that case, the Swedish decision would not have as great an effect on reducing the climate impact as desired. The life-cycle emissions would end up in the upper range – around 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide instead of around 3 million tonnes. Due to this, there may be reason to regulate emissions in both vehicle and battery production, from a life cycle perspective.

“Within the EU, for example, there is a discussion about setting a common standard for the manufacture of batteries and vehicles – in a similar way as there is a standard that regulates what may be emitted from exhausts,” said Johannes Morfeldt.

But, given Sweden’s low emissions from electricity production, a ban on sales of new fossil-fuel cars would indeed result in a sharp reduction of the total climate impact, regardless of how the manufacturing industry develops.

The results of the study are based on Swedish conditions, but the method used by the researchers can be used to obtain corresponding figures for other countries, based on each country’s car fleet and energy system. The year 2045 is highlighted because that is when greenhouse gas emissions within Sweden should reach net zero according to the climate policy goals of the country.

Share. Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Email
Previous ArticleCan this electric boat save Venice from sinking?
Next Article Britain’s electric vehicle charging network to become bigger and faster thanks to £300m boost
Web Team

Related Posts

Industry News

Tesla loses European market lead to BYD amid shifting EV landscape

May 22, 20252 Mins Read
Industry News

Chinese EV giant BYD selects Budapest for European headquarters and R&D center

May 19, 20252 Mins Read
Industry News

FEATURE: Green Power Park

April 30, 20256 Mins Read
Latest Posts

The right laser optic for every weld

May 22, 2025

Tesla loses European market lead to BYD amid shifting EV landscape

May 22, 2025

BMW and Solid Power achieve milestone with first ASSB road test

May 20, 2025
Our Social Channels
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
Getting in Touch
  • Free Email Newsletters
  • Meet the Editors
  • Contact Us
  • Media Pack
FREE WEEKLY NEWS EMAIL!

Get the 'best of the week' from this website direct to your inbox every Thursday


© 2023 Mark Allen Group Ltd | All Rights Reserved
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.