Study Pure Electric Vehicles Outperform in Emissions in US
TapTechNews August 12th news, a new study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) shows that pure electric vehicles significantly outperform in terms of emissions throughout the vehicle life cycle, especially when charged with renewable energy.
For the average 2024 US model year vehicles, the environmental impact is very significant: The greenhouse gas emissions of self-charging hybrid vehicles (HEV) throughout the life cycle are 2.2 times (sedan) and 2.5 times (SUV) of the corresponding models of pure electric vehicles. Similarly, the emissions of plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) are about twice that of pure electric vehicles. In contrast, the emissions of internal combustion engine (ICE) SUVs are as high as 3.5 times that of the corresponding models of pure electric vehicles.
The above data is based on the situation where the vehicles are charged with the average power grid. When pure electric vehicles are completely driven by renewable energy power, the greenhouse gas emissions of hybrid SUVs are as high as 4.9 times that of pure electric vehicles, and the emissions of internal combustion engine SUVs are even as high as 6.7 times.
ICCT indicates that the net greenhouse gas emissions of the entire vehicle life cycle include emissions from battery and vehicle manufacturing, raw material and fuel production, vehicle use, and end-of-life treatment. This comprehensive indicator can clearly reflect the environmental impact of a vehicle.
TapTechNews noticed that ICCT also made a prediction for 2030, and it is expected that the environmental benefits of pure electric vehicles will be even more significant by then. Specifically, it is expected that the full life cycle emissions of the 2030 internal combustion engine SUV will be 7.5 times that of the same renewable energy-driven pure electric model. In addition, research shows that the potential for emission reduction of plug-in hybrid vehicles and hybrid vehicles is much smaller compared to pure electric vehicles.