Abstract:

This research investigates carbon footprint impacts for full fleet electrification of Swedish passenger car travel in combination with different charging conditions, including an electric road system (ERS) that enables dynamic on-road charging. The research applies a prospective life cycle analysis framework for estimating the carbon footprints of vehicles, fuels, and infrastructure. The framework includes vehicle stock turnover modeling of fleet electrification and modeling of optimal battery capacity for different charging conditions based on Swedish real-world driving patterns. All new car sales are assumed to be electric after 2030, following phase-out policies for gasoline and diesel cars. Implementing ERS on selected high-traffic roads could yield significantly avoided emissions in battery manufacturing compared to the additional emissions in ERS construction. ERS combined with stationary charging could enable additional reductions in the cumulative carbon footprint of about 12-24 million tons of CO2over 30 years (2030-2060) compared to an electrified fleet only relying on stationary charging.