Abstract:

China is actively promoting vehicle electrification, which is deemed to help achieve its ambitious carbon neutrality goal by 2060. In this study, the authors show that vehicle electrification in China leads to an increase in automotive emissions of mercury, a persistent, global hazardous pollutant regulated in the United Nations Minamata Convention. The authors focus on atmospheric mercury (Hg) emissions throughout the lifetime of vehicles. The authors found that with current technologies, life-cycle mercury emissions of battery electric vehicles of 300 miles of all-electric range are 92% higher than conventional gasoline internal combustion engine vehicles, primarily due to the high mercury emissions from coal-based electricity generation. Unlike greenhouse gases, mercury emissions are mainly embedded in vehicular material production and vehicle manufacturing, accounting for 50–60% of electric vehicles and ∼90% of gasoline vehicles of their life-cycle mercury emissions. The current study, which compares the life-cycle Hg emissions of gasoline and electric vehicles, offers new perspectives on the environmental impact of vehicle electrification and its favourable effects on the climate.