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Cradle-to-Grave Lifecycle Environmental Assessment of Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Author

Listed:
  • Shafayat Rashid

    (Sustainable Manufacturing Systems Centre, School of Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Emanuele Pagone

    (Sustainable Manufacturing Systems Centre, School of Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

Abstract

Demand for sustainable transportation with a reduced environmental impact has led to the widespread adoption of electrified powertrains. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) produce lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during the use phase of their lifecycle, compared to conventional internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). However, a full understanding of their total environmental impact, from resource extraction to end-of-life (EOL), of a contemporary, real-world HEV and PHEV remains broadly elusive in the scientific literature. In this work, for the first time, a systematic cradle-to-grave lifecycle analysis (LCA) of a Toyota Prius XW50, as a HEV and PHEV, was used to comprehensively assess its environmental impact throughout its entire lifecycle using established lifecycle inventory databases. The LCA revealed that the gasoline fuel cycle (extraction, refinement, and transportation) is a major environmental impact “hotspot”. The more electrified PHEV model consumes 3.2% more energy and emits 5.6% more GHG emissions within the vehicle’s lifecycle, primarily owed to the manufacturing and recycling of larger traction batteries. However, when factoring in the fuel cycle, the PHEV model exhibits a 29.6% reduction in overall cradle-to-grave life energy consumption, and a 17.5% reduction in GHG emissions, in comparison to the less-electrified HEV. This suggests that the higher-electrified PHEV has a lower environmental impact than the HEV throughout the whole lifecycle. The presented cradle-to-grave LCA study can be a valuable benchmark for future research in comparing other HEVs and PHEVs or different powertrains for similarly sized passenger vehicles.

Suggested Citation

  • Shafayat Rashid & Emanuele Pagone, 2023. "Cradle-to-Grave Lifecycle Environmental Assessment of Hybrid Electric Vehicles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-23, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:14:p:11027-:d:1193969
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    2. Francoise Nemry & Guillaume Leduc & Almudena Muñoz, 2009. "Plug-in Hybrid and Battery-Electric Vehicles: State of the research and development and comparative analysis of energy and cost efficiency," JRC Working Papers JRC54699, Joint Research Centre (Seville site).
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