Greater greenhouse gas reductions for pickup truck electrification than
for other light-duty vehicles

Date:
March 4, 2022
Source:
University of Michigan
Summary:
Major automotive manufacturers are ramping up production of electric
trucks as a key strategy to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions
of their vehicles.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Major automotive manufacturers are ramping up production of electric
trucks as a key strategy to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of
their vehicles.


========================================================================== Light-duty vehicles, including sedans, SUVs and pickup trucks, are
currently responsible for 58% of U.S. transportation sector greenhouse
gas emissions.

Pickup trucks accounted for 14% of light-duty vehicle sales in the United States in 2020, and the market share of both pickups and SUVs has grown
in recent years.

But what does pickup truck electrification mean for the decarbonization
of the transportation industry? University of Michigan and Ford Motor
Co. researchers addressed this question in a new study and evaluated
the savings in greenhouse gas emissions relative to gasoline-powered
pickup trucks. The study was published online March 1 in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

"This is an important study to inform and encourage climate action. Our research clearly shows substantial greenhouse gas emission reductions
that can be achieved from transitioning to electrified powertrains
across all vehicle classes," said study senior author Greg Keoleian,
a professor at the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability and
director of the Center for Sustainable Systems.

In the study, researchers conducted a cradle-to-grave assessment of
the life cycle of pickup trucks and compared the implications of pickup
truck electrification to those of sedan and SUV electrification.



==========================================================================
With a focus on evaluating greenhouse gas emissions, researchers looked at three different model-year 2020 powertrain options -- internal-combustion- engine vehicles, hybrid-electric vehicles and battery-electric vehicles --
for midsize sedans, midsize SUVs and full-size pickup trucks, accounting
for differences in fuel economy, annual mileage, vehicle production and
vehicle lifetime across vehicle classes.

They found that for sedans, SUVs and pickup trucks, battery-electric
vehicles have approximately 64% lower cradle-to-grave life cycle
greenhouse gas emissions than internal-combustion-engine vehicles on
average across the United States.

"This study can help us to understand the potential impact of
electrification from an emissions-reduction perspective, particularly as
we introduce new electric vehicles, and how we can continue to accelerate
our progress towards carbon neutrality. We're proud to partner with
U-M in this critical work," said Cynthia Williams, global director of sustainability, homologation and compliance at Ford.

The study offers several key findings. Researchers, for instance,
found that replacing an internal-combustion-engine vehicle with a battery-electric vehicle results in greater total tonnage of greenhouse
gas emissions reductions as the vehicle size increases, due to the
greater fuel consumption of larger vehicles.

Though the percentage savings is about the same across vehicle classes,
on average, replacing an internal-combustion-engine sedan with a battery-electric sedan saves 45 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent; replacing an internal- combustion-engine SUV with a battery-electric
SUV saves 56 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent; and replacing an internal-combustion-engine pickup with a battery-electric pickup saves 74 metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent over the lifetime of the vehicles,
said study first author Max Woody, research specialist at U-M's Center
for Sustainable Systems.



==========================================================================
The researchers also found that battery-electric vehicles
have larger greenhouse gas emissions in their manufacturing than internal-combustion-engine vehicles, due to battery production, but this
impact is offset by savings in their operation. For battery-electric
vehicles and internal-combustion-engine vehicles, the break-even time is
1.2 to 1.3 years for sedans, 1.4 to 1.6 years for SUVs and 1.3 years for
pickup trucks, based on the average U.S. grid and vehicle miles traveled.

"This study expands upon previous studies that have focused on comparing battery-electric vehicle sedans to their internal-combustion-engine or
hybrid counterparts," Keoleian said. "We report emissions for vehicle production, use and end-of-life stages on a per-mile basis and over the
total vehicle lifetime.

"In addition, we analyzed the regional variation in emissions considering differences in electricity grid mixes and ambient temperatures, and
we also explored the effects of the rate of grid decarbonization on
emission reduction." Vehicle emissions vary across the country, as
different temperatures and different drive cycles affect a vehicle's
fuel economy. For electric vehicles, the greenhouse gas emissions
intensity of the local electricity grid is also an important factor. The
study developed maps to show the lifetime grams of carbon dioxide equivalent/mile for each powertrain (internal-combustion-engine vehicles, hybrid vehicles and battery-electric vehicles) and vehicle type (sedan,
SUV and pickup truck) by county across the United States.

Researchers found that public concerns about battery-electric vehicles
having higher emissions than internal-combustion-engine vehicles or
hybrids are largely unfounded, as battery-electric vehicles outperform
hybrids in 95%-96% of counties, while battery-electric vehicles outperform internal-combustion- engine vehicles in 98%-99% of counties, even assuming
only modest progress towards grid decarbonization.

Charging strategies can further reduce battery-electric vehicle
emissions. The study found that charging during the hours of the day
with the lowest grid emissions intensity can reduce emissions by 11%
on average.

"Deployment of electric vehicles and expansion of renewable energy
resources like solar and wind should be done at the same time," Woody
said. "The benefit of each is increased by the development of the other."
The other authors of the study are Parth Vaishnav of the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability and Center for Sustainable Systems, and
Robert De Kleine, Hyung Chul Kim, James Anderson and Timothy Wallington
of Ford Motor Company's Research and Innovation Center.

The study was supported by Ford Motor Co. through a Ford-University of
Michigan Alliance Project Award.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Michigan. Original
written by Lori Atherton. Note: Content may be edited for style and
length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Maxwell Woody, Parth Vaishnav, Gregory A Keoleian, Robert De Kleine,
Hyung Chul Kim, James E Anderson, Timothy J Wallington. The role of
pickup truck electrification in the decarbonization of light-duty
vehicles. Environmental Research Letters, 2022; 17 (3): 034031 DOI:
10.1088/1748-9326/ac5142 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220304112018.htm

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