Study defends green credentials of EVs, PHEVs

Claims that electric vehicles won’t help reduce harmful emissions are flawed and, instead, evidence suggests EVs can have a major impact on reducing the pollution traced to vehicles used in everyday life, a University of Michigan study finds.

The report prepared by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle of the university’s Transportation Research Institute indicates that, based on a review of so-called “well-to-wheels” studies that take into account both the sources and production of electricity and the fuel used in internal-combustion engines, EVs are substantially cleaner than vehicles with conventional powertrains.

“Based on the average mix of renewable and nonrenewable electric power sources in the US, the average well-to-wheels (greenhouse-gas) emissions for battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) is the lowest, at 214 grams per mile,” the researchers say. “The corresponding values for two different plug-in electric vehicle implementations, PHEV10 and PHEV40, range from 253 to 278 gpm, respectively.

“Gasoline-powered vehicles produce the most GHGs per mile, ranging from 356 to 409 gpm, depending on the specific type of ICE (direct-fuel-injection versus conventional port-fuel injection, respectively), Sivak and Schoettle say. This article first appeared in WardsAuto.

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