Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Electric and Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles

Abstract

This article is devoted to the ecological comparison of electric and internal combustion engine vehicles throughout their entire life cycle, from mining to recycling. A scientifically based approach to a comprehensive environmental assessment of the impact of vehicles on the environment has been developed. To analyze the impact on the environmental situation, aspects such as the consumption of natural resources, waste generation, electricity consumption, emission of harmful substances into the atmosphere, water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions are taken into consideration. As a result of comparing the environmental impacts of vehicles, it was found that natural resources consumption and production of industrial waste from electric vehicles (EV) is 6 times higher than from internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV). Harmful substance emissions and greenhouse gas emissions from EV production are 1.65 and 1.5 times higher, respectively. The EV total electricity consumption is 1.4 times higher than that of ICEVs. At the same time, it was revealed that during operation, EVs have higher energy consumption and emit more harmful substances into the atmosphere, but EVs produce less greenhouse gas emissions. It means that at different life cycle stages, EVs have a much higher negative impact on the environment compared to gasoline engine vehicles.