Ricardo delivers major European report on the lifecycle impacts of road vehicles

Ricardo delivers major European report on the lifecycle impacts of road vehicles

Ricardo experts in sustainable transport – alongside specialists from E4tech and the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg (ifeu) – have delivered an innovative and comprehensive lifecycle assessment of road vehicles on behalf of the European Commission.

As national governments give greater attention to reducing carbon emissions, action in the transport sector, and in particular that attributable to road traffic, is ever more critical to reducing environmental impacts and supporting the transition towards a low-carbon and circular economy. With the shift to new fuels and powertrain electrification it is more important to use life-cycle assessment (LCA) approaches in assessing the relative impacts of different options on a holistic basis.

This vehicle LCA study, the production of which was led by Ricardo and funded by the European Commission, DG Climate Action, is believed to be the broadest and most comprehensive study of its kind to date. Most significantly, the findings from the work confirm the significant environmental benefits of electrified powertrains (particularly of battery electric vehicles) for all of the road vehicle types assessed.

“Our assessment has shown that over their entire life-cycle in the EU, new electric vehicles are expected to have significantly lower impacts on the climate compared to conventional combustion engined vehicles,” commented Nikolas Hill, project manager and knowledge leader in transport technology and fuels in Ricardo’s sustainable transport team. “The study also highlights key environmental impact hotspots for different road vehicle types, and illustrates the variability in impacts expected for different use cases local conditions in European countries, particularly due to differences in the carbon intensity of the national electricity generation mix.”

Read more on Ricardo's website here and read the report here.