The effect of chassis weight optimization on the carbon footprint of the electric prototype vehicle

Abstract

Electrification of vehicles has become increasingly widespread lately. It aims to reduce carbon emissions globally. Another step, namely reducing vehicle weight, is expected to reduce energy consumption during the operation. A vehicle part that can be reduced in weight is the chassis. This research compares the carbon footprint between the stock chassis and the lightweight version. The lightweight chassis requires additional energy during its fabrication. Life cycle analysis (LCA) is conducted to calculate the carbon footprint of each chassis. Material loss and manufacturing time are the main differences in the footprint. Manufacturing strategy is important in order to minimize the emission of the process. The lightweight chassis can reduce CO2 emission by 11% assuming 200 hours of operation. Therefore, optimization of the weight significantly reduces the emission.