Integrated life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis for battery electric vehicles: a case study in Mexico

Abstract

The transportation sector is essential to building and strengthening a national economy. Furthermore, improving the transportation sector enhances the development of industries and markets. However, the increase in Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles (ICEVs) is directly related to the increase in global CO2 emissions, mainly due to dependence on petroleum-derived fuels. To address the environmental impacts caused by ICEVs, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) deployment is one of the main initiatives to decarbonize, reduce other emissions, and improve air quality in large urban cities worldwide. As a leader in the global automotive sector, vehicle electrification represents an opportunity for Mexico in terms of investment, BEV manufacturing, and research and development of electromobility technology. However, BEVs are still far from being a representative share of the Mexican and worldwide vehicle fleet, due to the high costs of purchasing, planning, political initiatives, and impact evaluation throughout the life of the vehicles. To address this challenge, this research project presents a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in order to evaluate the extraction of raw material, manufacturing, use and maintenance, and final disposal of an electric vehicle in Mexico with a cradle-to-grave perspective. The LCA evaluated the environmental impacts of the Moldex FAW FG60 electric passenger van, manufactured in Mexico with a lithium ferro phosphate (LFP) battery. In addition to the LCA, a Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) was carried out to compare the return on investment of four electric passenger vans with their contra parts in ICEV models available in Mexico. This assessment included the acquisition costs, ownership costs for operation and maintenance, and final disposal of the vehicle and lithium-based batteries (LBBs). In the study conducted, it was found that the use of BEVs had the highest impact on eight out of 18 impact categories in the Base Case Scenario for the LCA due to the electricity mix in Mexico. The highest impact on the entire BEV LCA was seen in terrestrial ecotoxicity, which was caused by LBB production and contributed to 40.59% of the impact. In the LCCA, the highest impact was seen in the acquisition phase due to the initial prices of BEVs in Mexico. However, in the operation stage, BEVs resulted in economic savings of more than MXN$100,000 (approximately USD$5,980) as compared to the expenses incurred for gasoline purchasing.