Carbon Footprint of Electric Vehicles—Review of Methodologies and Determinants

Abstract

The carbon footprint of a product and organization is one of the most important environmental indicators in many sectors, including transport. Consequently, electric vehicles (EV) are being introduced as an alternative to achieve decarbonization targets. This article presents an overview of methodologies for assessing the carbon footprint of electric vehicles, including a review of concepts, methods, standards, and calculation models based on the life cycle of the carbon footprint. The article also includes a systematic review of the results of EV carbon footprint analyses. The analysis of current knowledge on the carbon footprint focuses on road transport vehicles: Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV), Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV), and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV). Additionally, a review of factors determining the carbon footprint assessment of electric vehicles, considering their entire life cycle, has been conducted.

Keywords

• carbon footprint
• electric vehicles
• road transport
• life cycle assessment
• decarbonization