Life cycle assessment of battery electric buses

Authors

Linda Ager-Wick Ellingsen
Rebecca Jayne Thorne
Julia Wind
Erik Figenbaum
Mia Romare
Anders Nordelöf

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2022

Subject Area

mode - bus, technology - alternative fuels, planning - environmental impact

Keywords

battery electric buses (BEBs), battery technology, environmental impact

Abstract

Different Li-ion battery technologies and sizes are used in battery electric buses (BEBs), but little is known about the environmental effect of various battery technology and sizing alternatives. In a cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment of seven BEBs, we consider three battery technologies combined with relevant pack sizes to evaluate the size and range effect. The environmental performance of the BEBs was assessed over the typical length of a bus tender of 10 years as well as an extended lifetime of 20 years. Across six environmental impact categories we found that the size and range effect depends to a large extent on the performance of the battery technology and that a smaller battery size of the same technology is not necessarily environmentally preferable. Furthermore, extending the BEB lifetime from 10 to 20 years changes the environmental performance as well as relative contributions to environmental impact potentials for the various BEB alternatives.

Rights

Permission to publish the abstract has been given by Elsevier, copyright remains with them.

Comments

Transportation Research Part D Home Page:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/13619209

Recommended Citation

Ellingsen, L.A., Thorne, R.J., Wind, J., Figenbaum, E., Romare, M., & Nordelöf, A. (2022). Life cycle assessment of battery electric buses. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Vol. 112, 103498.