US EPA

2665952 

Journal Article 

Comparative economic and environmental analysis of conventional, hybrid and electric vehicles - the case study of Greece 

Nanaki, EA; Koroneos, CJ 

2013 

1 

Journal of Cleaner Production
ISSN: 0959-6526
EISSN: 1879-1786 

53 

261-266 

10.1016/j.jclepro,2013.04.010 

WOS:000321409100028 

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles as well as electric vehicles are recognized as one of the most promising avenues to materially reduce automobile contributions to petroleum dependency, air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions. Based on published data from various sources an economic and environmental comparison of a conventional, hybrid and electric vehicle - currently available at the Greek market - is performed. The production and utilization stages of the vehicles are taken into consideration. Three different electricity generation scenarios-high, medium and low carbon - are investigated. According to the comparison hybrid and electric cars exhibit advantages over conventional. In a carbon free electricity generation scenario the environmental benefits of electric cars are significant since 55.2% of the total Greenhouse gas emissions and 61.4% of the total Air Pollution emissions are stemming from conventional car; whereas 6.85% and 5.76% of total air emissions produced are emanating from electric car. It is shown that the environmental impact of electric car use depends on the source of electricity. Furthermore, three scenarios regarding the penetration rate of alternative energy propulsion systems into the Greek market are investigated for the years 2012-2025. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 

Hybrid vehicle; Electric vehicle; LCA; Alternative fuel vehicles