Do EVs Really Produce Lower Well-To-Wheel Emissions?

Short answer: Yes. But it depends a great deal on how the electricity itself is made. Here, we bust the argument that electric vehicles emit more from ‘cradle to grave’

- Chris Thompson

The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) published, in late July, a report analysing the life cycle of emissions from Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) as opposed to ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicles. But in Australia, there’s a perception to some that our reliance on fossil fuels is still high enough to offset any positive effect an EV might otherwise have. Time, then, for a localised fact check.

Key findings from the ICCT’s research includes a claim that EVs can produce anywhere between 19 and 68 percent less emissions than a petrol car depending on where the car was built and driven. Specifically, cars in India and China form the less effective half of this, while Europe and the USA are the upper half.

The report splits the average emissions produced for each stage of a medium-sized ICE car and EV. It shows that despite a clear emission increase in the manufacturing of the EVs and production of the electricity to run them, the massive amount of emissions produced through actually burning the fuel in ICE vehicles is often enough to dwarf the entire life cycle emissions of an EV.