Journal Article
A Data-Driven Greenhouse Gas Emission Rate Analysis for Vehicle Comparisons
2022-04-13
This shift has been ascribed to the importance of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation to mitigate the effects of climate change. In Europe, countries are proposing future bans on vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICEs), and individual United States (U.S.) states have followed suit. ...An important component of these complex decisions is the electricity generation GHG emission rates both for current electric grids and future electric grids. In this work we use 2019 U.S. electricity grid data to calculate the geographically and temporally resolved marginal emission rates that capture the real-world carbon emissions associated with present-day utilization of the U.S. grid for electric vehicle (EV) charging or any other electricity need. ...We find that currently there is no evidence to support the idea that BEVs lead to a uniform reduction in vehicle emission rates in comparison to HEVs and in many scenarios have higher GHG emissions. This suggests that a mix of powertrain technologies is the best path toward reducing transportation sector emissions until the U.S. grid can provide electricity for the all-electric fleet infrastructure and vehicle operations with a carbon intensity that produces a net environmental benefit.