Evaluating future powertrain and recycling technologies and their impact on the life cycle assessment and costing of mid-size and large passenger vehicles

Electrification is needed to improve the environmental performance of the transportation sector but must be accompanied by technological innovations that eliminate ecological hotspots over the vehicle’s lifetime. Additionally, the lifetime costs of electric vehicles must be reduced. This study uses the battery electric vehicle sustainability impact assessment model (BEVSIM) to analyse the effects of potential changes in recycled plastic content and its waste treatment, electricity grid, and the price of battery electric vehicles. Using recycled content in plastic parts improved their environmental performance in all categories except land use; e.g. using 40% recycled plastic reduced 107 kg CO2 eq. per passenger vehicle. Applying a combination of mechanical and pyrolysis technologies for plastic recycling improved several impact categories. However, a trade-off exists for a few impact categories. Finally, using 2030 and 2050 forecasts of electricity grids revealed lifecycle CO2 emissions for BEVs to be 50% and 56% lower than ICE, respectively.