Coal, Electric Vehicles, Gasoline-Electric and Michigan

Carbon emissions from generating electricity for electric vehicles vary greatly across the individual US states

Green Car Congress

MAY 1, 2023

by Michael Sivak, Sivak Applied Research The overall advantage of battery electric over gasoline vehicles, in terms of well-to-wheels emissions of greenhouse gases, has been well documented. However, the emissions of electric vehicles depend greatly on the energy source used to generate the electricity that powers them.

West Virginia

West Virginia Emissions Carbon Vermont

UMTRI study shows wide global variability in GHG emissions from operating an EV

Green Car Congress

NOVEMBER 7, 2017

A team at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) study has assessed the relative amounts of greenhouse-gas emissions from driving a battery-electric vehicle (BEV) compared with greenhouse-gas emissions from driving a traditional gasoline-powered vehicle in different countries of the world.

Emissions

Emissions Albania Botswana MPG

MIT, Ford researchers find lightweight conventional vehicles could have lower lifecycle GHG impact than EVs depending upon location

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 28, 2019

Researchers at MIT and the Ford Motor Company have found that depending on the location, lightweight conventional vehicles could have a lower lifecycle greenhouse gas impact than electric vehicles, at least in the near term. Their paper is published in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology. —Wu et al.

MIT

MIT Ford Vehicles Gasoline-Electric

U-M study: When, where, how electric delivery vehicles are charged has big impact on GHGs

Green Car Congress

JULY 13, 2021

Though EVs represent a small fraction of delivery vehicles today, the number is growing. In 2019, Amazon announced plans to obtain 100,000 electric delivery vehicles. UPS has ordered 10,000 of them and FedEx plans to be fully electric by 2040.

Charging

Charging Vehicles Gas-Electric Emissions

CMU study finds controlled EV charging can reduce generation cost, but at greater health and environmental costs depending upon the generation mix

Green Car Congress

APRIL 16, 2015

Results from the study also suggest that with sufficient coal plant retirement and sufficient wind power, controlled charging could result in positive net benefits instead of negative. The question of electricity costs vs. health and environmental cost is important to ask everywhere, Michalek said. Credit: ACS, Weis et al.

Charging

Charging Coal Grid District of Columbia

Study: even with high LDV electrification, low-carbon biofuels will be necessary to meet 80% GHG reduction target; “daunting” policy implications

Green Car Congress

JULY 3, 2015

The same highly electrified scenarios, however, could not satisfy 80% GHG-reduction targets, even assuming 80% decarbonized electricity and no growth in travel demand. consumer attitudes, fuel prices, battery technology advancement, vehicle costs and subsidies). They based their low electrification scenario (0.3%

Carbon

Carbon EPRI Climate Gasoline-Electric

Perspective: Shoddy Environmental BookkeepingBiofuels and Indirect Land Use Change

Green Car Congress

APRIL 3, 2009

Perspective by Professor Bruce Dale, Michigan State University. Until early last year, it was widely accepted that biofuels such as ethanol significantly reduce total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to gasoline. Let’s say an automaker makes more battery-powered electric vehicles, thus using more nickel for the batteries.

Congress

Congress Michigan Pollution Universal

U. Mich study: natural-gas-based ICE, BEV and FCV all show promise for environmental benefits relative to conventional ICE

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 19, 2014

Results of a lifecycle analysis by a team at the University of Michigan suggest that multiple types of natural gas-powered vehicles—i.e., CNGVs, particularly those retrofitted from gasoline engines, trail in efficiency with a fuel conversion efficiency of approximately 20%. —Dai and Lastoskie.

Gas

Gas Li-ion Gas-Electric Conversion

ARPA-E Selects 37 Projects for $106M in Funding in Second Round; Electrofuels, Better Batteries and Carbon Capture

Green Car Congress

APRIL 30, 2010

The second round was focused specifically on three areas of technology representing new approaches for advanced microbial biofuels (electrofuels); much higher capacity and less expensive batteries for electric vehicles; and carbon capture. Electrofuels: Biofuels from Electricity. The grants will go to projects in 17 states.

Carbon

Carbon Batteries Battery Li-ion

Tennessee, Nissan and TVA forge a path for electric car | www.tennessean.com | The Tennessean

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

APRIL 28, 2009

Tennessee, Nissan and TVA forge a path for electric car By G. Phil Bredesen spent part of Earth Day last week test-driving a Nissan prototype all-electric vehicle at the automakers U.S. Coming to public in 12 Nissans first electric car is to go into corporate and government fleets beginning in late 2010.

Tennessee

Tennessee Nissan Electric Cars Cars

ARPA-E Awards $151M to 37 Projects for Transformative Energy Research

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 26, 2009

Eagle Picher, in partnership with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, will develop a new generation of high energy, low cost planar liquid sodium beta batteries for grid scale electrical power storage applications. Energy Efficient Capture of CO 2 from Coal Flue Gas. Earlier post.) DOE grant: $7,200,000). DOE grant: $6,949,624).

Energy

Energy Grant Low Cost Li-ion

How Carmakers Are Responding to the Plug-In Hybrid Opportunity

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

APRIL 21, 2009

GM has announced plans for public sales in 2010, and almost every carmaker now says it will sell PHEVs or highway-speed battery electric vehicles (BEVs) sometime after 2010. Weve kept the summary table below generally up-to-date for passenger PHEVs, but not for BEVs, motorcycles or larger vehicles like buses and trucks.

Plug-in

Plug-in Plug Hybrid PHEV

Why Warren Buffett is investing in electric car company BYD - Apr. 13, 2009

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

APRIL 16, 2009

Why hes banking on an obscure Chinese electric car company and a CEO who - no joke - drinks his own battery fluid. BYDs breakthrough all-electric E6, photographed at this years Detroit auto show. " 0:00 / 3:23 Buffett eyes electric cars Coming from Munger, that meant a lot. tech industry during the 1990s.

BYD

BYD 2009 Companies Electric Cars

EV Driven

Carbon emissions from generating electricity for electric vehicles vary greatly across the individual US states

UMTRI study shows wide global variability in GHG emissions from operating an EV

MIT, Ford researchers find lightweight conventional vehicles could have lower lifecycle GHG impact than EVs depending upon location

U-M study: When, where, how electric delivery vehicles are charged has big impact on GHGs

CMU study finds controlled EV charging can reduce generation cost, but at greater health and environmental costs depending upon the generation mix

Study: even with high LDV electrification, low-carbon biofuels will be necessary to meet 80% GHG reduction target; “daunting” policy implications

Perspective: Shoddy Environmental BookkeepingBiofuels and Indirect Land Use Change

U. Mich study: natural-gas-based ICE, BEV and FCV all show promise for environmental benefits relative to conventional ICE

ARPA-E Selects 37 Projects for $106M in Funding in Second Round; Electrofuels, Better Batteries and Carbon Capture

Tennessee, Nissan and TVA forge a path for electric car | www.tennessean.com | The Tennessean

ARPA-E Awards $151M to 37 Projects for Transformative Energy Research

How Carmakers Are Responding to the Plug-In Hybrid Opportunity

Why Warren Buffett is investing in electric car company BYD - Apr. 13, 2009

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