Operational Smart Charging and Its Environmental Impacts: Evidence from Three EU Use Cases with an Innovative LCA Tool, VERIFY-EV

The rapid uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) across Europe offers opportunities for reducing transport-related emissions but also presents new challenges for electricity grids, particularly in relation to congestion and peak demand. Although most lifecycle assessment (LCA) studies show that EVs emit fewer greenhouse gases (GHG) over their lifetimes than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles with comparable power output, particularly under the European electricity mix, the environmental impacts of mitigating grid congestion through smart charging (by time and location) are rarely quantified using real-world data. Using a high-granularity LCA tool that utilizes hourly data, this study assesses EV deployment strategies across Europe and provides case-specific insights. The presented LCA tool provides a transferable methodology to support data-driven decision-making for urban planners, distribution system operators, and policymakers committed to accelerating sustainable mobility transitions utilizing GHG payback time thresholds as a practical metric for evaluating infrastructure sustainability. Results demonstrate that EVs reduce GHG emissions by 55–99% per kilometer compared to ICE vehicles, especially when benefiting from renewable-powered charging and smart bidirectional infrastructure. Furthermore, the analysis highlights that counter-congestion strategies deliver additional savings, though outcomes depend strongly on grid carbon intensity and charger utilization patterns.