We evaluate the N-shaped environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) using panel quantile regression analysis. We investigate the relationship between CO2 emissions and GDP per capita for 74 countries over the period of 1994–2012. We include additional explanatory variables, such as renewable energy consumption, technological development, trade, and institutional quality. We find evidence for the N-shaped EKC in all income groups, except for the upper-middle-income countries. Heterogeneous characteristics are, however, observed over the N-shaped EKC. Finally, we find a negative relationship between renewable energy consumption and CO2 emissions, which highlights the importance of promoting greener energy in order to combat global warming.

This thesis aims to explore, analyze, and develop knowledge that leads to an understanding of identifying the key actors and their symbiotic relationships and dependencies in transforming the energy and transportation system from fossil-based to renewable and fossil fuel-powered vehicles to electric. 

The research was explorative and categorized into two studies. The Study – I focuses on the technological development that leads toward transforming from the old fossil-based analog electricity generation and distribution system to the new digitalized renewable system. This study further explores the impact of these disruptive technologies on the market and society, and the challenges hindering the implementation and adoption of the new energy system. Study – II focuses on developing new knowledge and understanding by integrating technological, political, societal, and economic aspects into one model and named it a 'multidimensional readiness index model.' This model can serve as an analytical tool and provide a broader perspective for exploring, analyzing, evaluating, and determining the countries' positions in transforming the transformation system. The model has been applied to eight countries, two from Asia (China and India) and Australia and five from Europe (Germany, Norway, Sweden, Slovenia, and the UK). The kappa synthesizes the exploration of the papers. Additionally, the system approach is applied to explore and understand the symbiotic relationship in the new ecosystem among the key actors and stakeholders and their significant role in transforming the transportation system from fossil-based to electric. 

The main conclusion is that the countries with a higher symbiotic relationship among the key actors achieved a higher level of readiness in transforming the transportation system. In contrast, other countries with a low symbiotic relationship among the key actors are slowly catching up or even far behind in transforming the transportation system towards electrification.

To investigate the reasons for shifting from the old to the new energy system, the impact of this disruptive technology on energy providing firms, the demand for the new business model and the approach of the new business model in terms of creating and capturing values published peer-reviewed articles, and international energy agency reports have been reviewed. This paper encourages energy providing firms to redesign business models for commercializing new energy distribution system and to offer new services to the energy consumers for their future survival in the new trends of the energy market. These services include integrating with renewable energy sources, electric vehicle services, and demand response services to create more value for the consumers and in return gains more profit for each actor.

The services provided through integration of renewable energy with smart grid and the electric vehicle will empower consumers involvement in the electricity system which will give them more control over electricity. CO₂ production will be reduced, helping to create a clean environment and will enable operators to improve grid security and network stability. Finally, demand response services will provide multiple electricity package options to the consumers in which they can select an appropriate package according to their need which will give them more control over their electricity bill. System operators can optimize their grid operations to provide better power quality, and service providers can increase their income by offering additional services.

The main objective of this paper is to develop a readiness index model that can serve as an analytical tool for exploring the achievements of electrification of transportation systems. We have applied this readiness index model to evaluate the readiness positioning of China, Norway, and Sweden towards transport electrification. We have chosen these three countries as they represent diversity among countries that are in the process of adopting electrified transport system solutions. Our developed readiness index model has four key dimensions, technological readiness, political readiness, societal readiness, and economic readiness. The embeddedness of all four dimensions in one model provides a multi-perspective way of analyzing and evaluating the readiness levels of countries moving towards transforming the transportation system. Therefore, we named the model a “multidimensional readiness index.”

The electric road system is an emerging concept in this modern era. The advancement of technology has made it possible to give this concept a real shape (electric road system). However, the energy provided to the electric roads is still produced by non-renewable energy sources, which are completely unhealthy and harmful for society. Furthermore, the traditional grid is not suited to integrate with decentralized/localized energy generation and distribution systems. It is an ineffectual and environmentally extravagant system. Therefore, the preliminary contribution of this research is to introduce a decentralized/localized energy generation system based on renewable energy sources and energy distribution to electric roads through the emerging technology of microgrid and smart grid systems, which have the capability to integrate with renewable energy sources easily. Thus, producing electricity with renewable energy sources is environmentally friendly, less expensive, and available without charges. However, each source of energy has some environmental impacts and cost differences. A brief description of the environmental and cost impact of renewable energy sources (wind, solar) is also presented.

In September 2021, the Swedish Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) was commissioned by the government to "contribute to the knowledge building regarding a fast, smart and socio-economically efficient electrification of the transport sector". VTI produces separate reports that correspond to different issues in the government commission. This report describes the costs for different actors and the socio-economic effects of electrification with different technologies, as well as existing financing issues and possible business models.

Sweden has the ambition to be a pioneering country that can show the potential of electrification of the transport sector, as well as spread innovation and technological development that can accelerate electrification globally. The transition to an electrified transport system requires behavioral change, innovation, and infrastructure investments on a large scale.

The road sector accounts for almost 95 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions generated by domestic transport in Sweden. The potential to electrify large parts of the road transports already exists today. Electrification of the road sector can make renewable liquid and gaseous fuels available to segments where electrification is more difficult to implement, such as work machines, shipping, and aviation. Availability of low emission fuels for these segments is crucial to achieve net zero emissions by 2045. It may therefore be cost-effective to accelerate electrification of the road sector. In 2021, 45 percent of the registered passenger cars in Sweden that year were fully electric or plug in hybrids. The growth in demand is predicted to increase rapidly.

A rapid increase in electric vehicles places high demands on the availability of sufficient charging infrastructure and capacity in the electricity networks to meet the demand for energy supply. Electric vehicles and charging infrastructure are associated with large network effects that justify policy instruments to enable a high, and socio-economically efficient, transitioning towards an electrified transport sector. The report discusses several of the instruments within the EU and in Sweden that contribute to accelerating electrification. The increase in ambition presented by the European Commission in the climate legislation package Fit for 55 can greatly impact on the incentives for companies and consumers to switch to electrified vehicles. The package contains various proposals that signal a long-term price of greenhouse gas emissions that increases over time. How the proposals affect the effectiveness of Sweden's national instruments, and how they should be adjusted or complemented, needs to be further analyzed. 

This paper discusses principles for identifying and appraising the impact on GHG (green house gases) emissions from electrifying transportation. We are primarily interested in the road-to-rail case, but the principles apply to other cases as well, both inside and outside the transportation sector. The underlying motive for the paper is an ongoing debate regarding how and to what extent investments in rail infrastructure influences GHG emissions and how to adequately consider the effects in cost-benefit analyses (CBAs) of such investments. Various approaches have been proposed.

The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) has been commissioned by the Swedish Government to “contribute to the creation of knowledge regarding a rapid, smart and socioeconomically efficient electrification of the transport sector”. This report presents the part of the commission that describes a general analysis of the interaction between the energy system and the transport system, what obstacles there are and what solutions can contribute to increased electrification of transport. This part of the assignment includes good examples from other countries. 

Transport and energy have always been closely linked sectors. What is changing now, is not only the connection between the sectors, but also their nature; while the transport sector has historically mainly consumed oil products, global climate measures will drive the transport sector towards a stronger link to electricity. Therefore, the transition from oil-based transport to electricity-based transport is as much about sector changing within the energy sector as between energy and transport sectors. To handle this transition requires a conversion of both systems. The report describes the implications of the transport sector’s change on the energy system and the roles of various actors in the change. In addition, good examples from four other countries – China, the USA, Norway and the Netherlands – are highlighted. When transitioning, there are some policy aspects that are important to take into account, such as technology and behavior change, changes in the sectors and overlapping political goals.

This report explores the concept of the airport as an energy hub in the decarbonizing transportation and energy systems. The airport, transitioning from petroleum-based fuels to carbon-free alternatives like electricity, hydrogen, or biofuels, could help reduce the aviation sector’s carbon footprint. Beyond providing electricity for flight itself or producing fossil-free aviation fuels, electrifying airport ground operations would further integrate the airport into the electricity grid, reduce local emissions, and contribute to global greenhouse gas mitigation. With its existing transportation and logistics links, the airport could also play a coordinating role in future transportation energy demands, contribute to local energy markets, and support grid stability. Incorporating renewable energy and storage systems and potentially producing fossil-free fuels positions the airport as a two-way hub in both the transportation and energy systems, helping to balance multiple objectives in achieving economy-wide sustainability targets.

Accordingly, the aim of this study is, primarily, to investigate the decarbonization of non-urban road transport by assuming a local energy system perspective. Due to the novelty of this topic, the aim of the presented paper is further extended to clarify how generating pathways, as a context-specific developed method, can contribute with knowledge to the decarbonization of non-urban road transport systems, but also how these pathways can be generated from a participatory approach. In this study, the decarbonization of road transport systems was investigated through a new context-specific iterative method specifically developed to generate pathways and applied to a local context of non-urban areas. Literature review findings were iterated with a participatory approach, by involving municipal officials of three different-sized Swedish municipalities – Lidköping, Skara, and Grästorp. Based on the local context described by the municipal officials, both in terms of local resources (e.g. energy and mobility technologies) availability and timeframe towards fulfilling different carbon dioxide reduction targets, pathways were identified. 

Four pathways were identified. The pathways, which differ regarding (i) local electricity production, (ii) use of biogas, and (iii) flexibility of public transport services, were named “base”, “self-sufficiency”, “bio-locked”, and “flexible public transport”.  Despite generating pathways being described by this study as a context-specific process, the same pathways were identified for the three participating municipalities. This can be understood from different lenses. Firstly, the three municipalities were revealed to be very similar in terms of the scope of this study, experiencing the same opportunities and challenges towards the decarbonization of their road transport systems. Further, the participating municipalities were characterized as having a commuting traveling profile between each other. Thereby, identifying the same pathways suggests that different municipalities' goals and actions can gain from acting in harmony according to a regional and collaborating perspective.

Despite the recognition of the role that biofuels play in achieving climate objectives in Sweden and the EU, there exists a gap in our understanding of how the production and distribution of biofuels impact Swedish greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, recent geopolitical events have highlighted the vulnerabilities stemming from the nation's reliance on imported fuel, elevating energy supply concerns to the realm of national security. These concerns underscore the need for a better comprehension of the evolution of fossil-free transportation systems. The objective of this study is to examine and map the production, distribution, and fuel demand in Sweden today to set the stage for future analyses that seek to explore how changes in logistics, transportation, and fuel production locations may affect greenhouse gas emissions in the country, particularly from an increased self-sufficiency in biofuel production in Sweden.

Another goal of this study is the establishment of a reference group, aimed at providing an accurate assessment and bridging potential knowledge gaps. To this end, we have collaborated with key organizations, including the Swedish Energy Agency and Drivkraft Sverige, a Swedish trade association for fuel industry. Additionally, we have initiated a partnership with Skogforsk, a forestry research institute with extensive knowledge in biofuel production from woody biomass – the resource with the greatest potential for large-scale biofuel production in Sweden. Through this study, we have laid a solid foundation for subsequent analyses, the outcomes of which will contribute improve biofuel distribution and provide recommendations for national policy measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The implementation of asymmetric emission reduction policies can not only increase the cost of reducing emissions but also reduce the effectiveness of climate policies themselves, leading to policy inefficiencies such as carbon leakage. This paper investigates the impact of asymmetric emission reduction policies on the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of climate strategies in North America. Using a model inter-comparison approach, which combines two bottom-up global models and one top-down global model, this study assesses the effects of such policies on fuel substitution, global fossil fuel trade, and emissions in North America and globally. It is the first work where a multi-model approach is used for exploring how different energy systems react to asymmetric carbon policies. This provides critical insights into regional policy design within a global emissions framework. Quantitatively, the study reveals that asymmetric carbon pricing can lead to more than 60% global emissions reduction in certain models, but can also drive trade distortions, where U.S. exemptions result in emissions rising by more than 10% compared to reference scenarios. Qualitatively, significant fuel substitution patterns across Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. demonstrate increased coal consumption when carbon prices are unevenly applied. While no global emission increase was observed, asymmetric policies result in inefficiencies between local policy costs and emissions reduction outcomes, such as rising fossil fuel trade in non-abating regions. The findings suggest that harmonising carbon policies across regions would reduce inefficiencies and minimise carbon leakage. 

In recent years, various field operational tests (FOTs) have been carried out in the EU to measure the real-world impacts of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). A challenge arising from these FOTs is to scale up from the very localised effects measured in the tests to a much wider set of socio-economic impacts, for the purposes of policy evaluation. This can involve: projecting future take-up of the systems; scaling up to a wider geographical area – in some cases the whole EU; and estimating a range of economic, social and environmental impacts into the future. This article describes the evaluation conducted in the European project ‘ecoDriver’, which developed and tested a range of driver support systems for cars and commercial vehicles. The systems aimed to reduce CO2 emissions and energy consumption by encouraging the adoption of green driving behaviour. A novel approach to evaluation was adopted, which used scenario-building and micro-simulation to help scale up the results from field tests to the EU-28 level over a 20 year period, leading to a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) from both a societal and a stakeholder perspective. This article describes the method developed and used for the evaluation, and the main results for eco-driving systems, focusing on novel aspects, lessons learned and implications for policy and research.

The electrification of road bound transport is to some extent limited by the large cost of the energy storage required on-board the vehicles, i.e., the cost of the battery. One way of reducing the required capacity of the on-board energy storage is to enable the possibility to supply the vehicles with electrical energy while it is moving, also called dynamic charging. The energy transfer is usually achieved by either an inductive or conductive coupling between the static supply and moving vehicle. This thesis focuses on a conductive energy transfer system and the challenges that follows, mainly the preference that the supply and the on-board voltage system should be galvanically isolated.

A prototype electrical powertrain is developed in a laboratory environment with the purpose of proving the concept as well as gathering measurement data for model validation. The data gathered is used to model three different types of electrical powertrains, each with a different philosophy with regard to galvanic isolation, and to compare their performance from an energy consumption and battery degradation point of view. The experimentally verified powertrain of this thesis features integrated energy transfer capabilities, meaning components originally only meant for traction purposes are also utilized in the process of transferring energy from an external supply to the wheels and energy storage on-board the vehicle. It turns out that this approach to energy transfer can be shown to be beneficial under certain circumstances, such as vehicle type, electric road characteristics for instance, compared to a separate energy transfer solution, where one separate component has, as its only purpose, the responsibility to transfer energy from a supply to the wheels and energy storage.

Enabling vehicles to draw energy from an electric road system (ERS) significantly reduces the need for battery capacity on board the vehicle. It is not necessary, nor realistic, to cover every meter of every stretch of road with ERS. The question then arises how and where the ERS sections should be placed. One way of doing it is to place equally long sections of ERS with a certain separating distance. Another way is to place the sections where the highest amount of traction power of the vehicles is required. This paper presents a performance evaluation of both these methods from an energy consumption and battery degradation point of view. This study assumes a conductive ERS which allows for high power transfer. Being conductive, galvanic isolation between the energy source (the ERS) and the on board traction voltage system (TVS) is needed for electric safety reasons. In addition to the two alternative methods for location of ERS segments, three different powertrains, each with a different approach to galvanic isolation and charging, are evaluated. It is discovered that the method for location of the ERS can in fact affect both energy consumption and battery degradation depending on powertrain and driving scenario.

Electric road systems (ERS) are technologies that allow to charge electric vehicles (EVs) while they are driving. A large scale implementation of ERS would allow to significantly reduce the installed battery capacity on board the vehicles, which consequently reduces their weight and cost. Due to geographical, practical and economic constraints the ERS is not expected to cover the full extension of the road being electrified. Instead, the ERS is expected to be implemented in sections which together would cover only a fraction of the overall length of the road (). If vehicles are to perform charge sustained trips while on the electrified road, there is a tradeoff between and the required charging power. In this context, this work presents the implications of altering in the rating of the components of three alternative powertrains purposely designed to operate in conjunction with an ERS. The energy consumption and cost of the different powertrains is compared and conclusions on the effectiveness of the different configurations are drawn.

Samhällets omställning till fossilfri energi innebär bland annat en ökad elektrifiering. I sin tur innebär en ökad elektrifiering också en högre efterfrågan på nya anslutningar till och behov av ökad kapacitet i elnätet. Syftet med delrapporten är att beskriva processen för att ansluta laddstationer till elnätet, den reglering som styr detta samt de olika aktörer som kan bli inblandade och vilka roller de kan ha. Beskrivningen baseras på en analys av litteratur och rapporter inom området och samtal med experter från näringslivet. Rapporten presenterar en översikt av det svenska elsystemet och aktörer från el- och transportsektorn som är påverkade av sammankopplingen mellan dessa sektorer. Vidare ger rapporten en beskrivning av nuvarande policys och regelverk i relation till anslutning av laddstationer till elnätet och en internationell utblick. Slutligen sammanfattas de viktigaste slutsatserna och rekommendationer tas upp som kan vidtas för att adressera de identifierade utmaningarna i elsystemet.

This study carried out at VTI is a part of a government commission given to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency regarding charging and refueling infrastructure for electrified working machines. The study describes the current status within a number of different industries within the working machine sector and has a wide scope in terms of the technical solutions involved, i.e. it includes all types of electrification, and also covers hydrogen solutions. The study is based on literature review, information from news sources, and conversations with representatives of a selection of relevant actors. 

A list of examples of interesting electrification pilots in Sweden and abroad are briefly presented, both completed and ongoing ones, where the electrified machines and their charging infrastructure are described. Furthermore, factors of importance and main challenges are discussed and related to identified future trends and connections to other related sectors and their electrification development.

Batteries is one of the main systems of electric vehicle. Batteries determine the total performance and define the capabilities of the electric vehicle regardless it is a passenger vehicle or heavy truck. Batteries are also determining the total price of the electric vehicle to large extend. In this report we are focusing on the technology development in historic perspective of the last 15 years in China. We see that the lithium-ion technology is the dominant technology, but we also see new emerging battery technologies that might be the game changer for the performance of electric vehicles. We demonstrate the dynamics of main battery technologies, LFP (lithium iron manganese, LiFeO4, battery cell) battery and NMC (lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide battery cell) battery, the distribution of installed volumes between LFP and NMC in the Chinese market.

The anthropogenic pressure on the Earth system already overshoots safe limits for climate change, so there is an urgent need to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by transportation. Electric propulsion technology is a promising solution that can decouple fossil fuel use from road vehicle traffic. Additional benefits include removed tailpipe exhaust gas emissions, which currently damage human health and the environment, both locally and regionally.

However, electrification of vehicles could lead to problem shifts, e.g. from the use of fossil fuels to the generation of fossil electricity. Even when combined with renewable energy, there are trade-offs between benefits in operation and added environmental load during manufacturing, shifting from airborne emissions to resource related impacts. This is because electric powertrain components require new materials and more advanced processing compared to conventional vehicle parts.

The environmental impacts of vehicle electrification can be analyzed using life cycle assessment (LCA). This is a holistic systems tool, where all life cycle stages, from raw material acquisition to disposal, are investigated for potential contribution to environmental problems. For LCA of vehicles, a well-to-wheels study examines the life cycle of the energy carrier, i.e. a fuel or electricity, whereas complete LCA includes the production, use and disposal of the vehicle as such. A thorough review of the research field exposed short-comings in both methodology and inventory data.

This thesis aims to discuss in what ways LCA support the development of electrified road vehicles, and present contributions on how the methodology can advance to provide better support, with the goal to minimize environmental impact of vehicles in the long term.

This is a pre-study, financed by the Swedish Energy Agency, with the aim of presenting a research agenda for life cycle assessment (LCA) of electromobility. Electric vehicles are often portrayed as potential remedies for numerous environmental problems, most notably global warming. At the same time, LCA studies already conducted have shown that electric vehicles can also worsen some environmental problems through increased use of abiotic resources and emissions of toxicity substances. Whether electric vehicles truly do reduce global warming impacts also depends on the production technology for the electricity. This type of ambiguous result calls for a systematic assessment of the environmental and resource performance of electromobility, such as by LCA. Considering the many overlapping issues related to LCA and electromobility, it can be thought of as a nexus, involving different technologies (batteries, fuel cells, electronics, electric motors, different vehicles, etc.) and different environmental issues (resource use, criticality thereof, energy-related emissions, etc.). In order to investigate which parts of this nexus are most interesting to study further, information was obtained from three sources: (1) workshops with relevant industry stakeholders, (2) interviews with researchers in the field, and (3) a literature study of key documents in the area of LCA of electromobility. The result is formulated into a research agenda for LCA of electromobility, which consists of ten research questions. Seven of these regard electromobility technologies important to study (e.g. future battery chemistries and electric aviation), whereas three regard methodological issues (e.g. impact assessment of abiotic resources). Two near-term research projects have been formulated, for which funding applications will be submitted during 2019, and together they cover amajority of the research questions.  

The purpose of this review article is to investigate the usefulness of different types of life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of electrified vehicles to provide robust and relevant stakeholder information. It presents synthesized conclusions based on 79 papers. Another objective is to search for explanations to divergence and “complexity” of results found by other overviewing papers in the research field, and to compile methodological learnings. The hypothesis was that such divergence could be explained by differences in goal and scope definitions of the reviewed LCA studies. 

The review has set special attention to the goal and scope formulation of all included studies. First, completeness and clarity have been assessed in view of the ISO standard’s recommendation for goal definition. Secondly, studies have been categorized based on technical and methodological scope, and searched for coherent conclusions.

This study presents a review of how the end-of-life (EOL) stage is modelled in life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Twenty-five peer-reviewed journal and conference papers that consider the whole LIB life cycle and describe their EOL modelling approach sufficiently were analyzed. The studies were categorized based on two archetypal EOL modelling approaches in LCA: The cutoff (no material recovery, possibly secondary material input) and EOL recycling (material recovery, only primary material input) approaches. It was found that 19 of the studies followed the EOL recycling approach and 6 the cutoff approach. In addition, almost a third of the studies deviated from the expected setup of the two methods by including both material recovery and secondary material input. Such hybrid approaches may lead to double counting of recycling benefits by both including secondary input (as in the cutoff approach) and substituting primary materials (as in the EOL recycling approach). If the archetypal EOL modelling approaches are not followed, it is imperative that the modelling choices are well-documented and motivated to avoid double counting that leads to over- or underestimations of the environmental impacts of LIBs. Also, 21 studies model hydrometallurgical treatment, and 17 completely omit waste collection. 

This study explores life cycle environmental impacts of city buses, depending on the: (1) degree of electrification; (2) electricity supply mix, for chargeable options; and (3) choice of diesel or hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO), a biodiesel, for options with combustion engine. It is a case study, which uses industry data to investigate the impact on climate change, a key driver for electrification, and a wider set of impacts, for average operation in Sweden, the European Union and the United States of America. The results show that non-chargeable hybrid electric vehicles provide clear climate change mitigation potential compared to conventional buses, regardless of the available fuel being diesel or HVO. When fueling with HVO, plug-in hybrid and all-electric buses provide further benefits for grid intensities below 200 g CO2 eq./kWh. For diesel, the all-electric option is preferable up to 750 g CO2 eq./kWh. This is the case despite batteries and other electric powertrain parts causing an increase of CO2 emissions from vehicle production. However, material processing to make common parts, i.e. chassis, frame and body, dominates the production load for all models. Consequently, city buses differ from passenger cars, where the battery packs play a larger role. In regard to other airborne pollutants, the all-electric bus has the best potential to reduce impacts overall, but the results depend on the amount of fossil fuels and combustion processes in the electricity production. For toxic emissions and resource use, the extraction of metals and fossil fuels calls for attention. 

El- och hybridfordon utmålas ofta som en viktig del av lösningen på de miljöprob-lem som orsakas av våra vägtransporter. Men är de verkligen det? Elektrifierade drivlinor är mer energieffektiva än motsvarande konventionella baserade på diesel- eller bensindrivna motorer och helt elektrifierade fordon ger inga direkta avgasutsläpp. Men å andra sidan kräver de elektricitet, och den måste produceras på något sätt, med större eller mindre miljöpåverkan. El- och hybridfordon innefattar också nya avancerade komponenter, vars produktion kräver naturresurser och ger upphov till utsläpp. 

Ett sätt att ta reda på om el- och hybridfordon är bättre från miljösynpunkt är att göra livscykelanalyser, och det finns också ett stort antal sådana gjorda. Eftersom man kan göra livscykelanalyser på många olika sätt, med olika grundantaganden och med olika avgränsningar, ter sig resultaten av alla dessa studier vid en första anblick som högst varierande och ibland t o m motsägelsefulla. Men genom att fördjupa sig i studierna och se vad de tillsammans säger går det att dra att antal mer generella slutsatser ur den samlade litteraturen.

Electric and hybrid drivetrains are currently regarded as a promising technology for vehicle propulsion. They can reduce greenhouse and other exhaust gas emissions from road transport. Electric drivetrains are more efficient than conventional internal combustion engines fuelled by petrol or diesel, and fully electrified vehicles does not give any tailpipe emissions. In addition, electric drivetrains can also assist in decoupling the transport sector from its heavy reliance on fossil fuels. On the other hand, electric vehicles will require that more electricity is produced and this can be done from several different energy sources with diverse environmental impacts. Furthermore, electric drivetrains require new advanced components that result in additional, or at least different, environmental impacts compared to conventional vehicles.

The trade-off between the benefits when operating of the vehicle and possible negative impacts from the production and from energy supply can be analysed using life cycle assessment (LCA). However, LCA studies come in many shapes and diverging arguments on the utility of technology are based on them. Some advocate the technology (using for example the well-to-wheels approach to guide government promotion policies on different types of drivetrains and alternative fuel options) and others claim that the prospective for electric cars to reduce the environmental impacts of mobility is “substantially overrated” or that there will be “significant increases in human toxicity“.

This chapter provides an overview of the life cycle impacts of electric vehicles, with general conclusions and examples of results. We review existing research and sort studies found in literature into categories by asking what we can learn from different LCA approaches. More specifically, which answers do we get from well-to-wheels (WTW) studies in comparison to complete LCA studies, and what difference does it make if a study includes a narrow or broad set of environmental impacts. We conclude by summarising these learnings and discuss implications for a set of stakeholders identified in the area of vehicle electrification, such as policy makers and various branches of industry.

The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) has been commissioned by the Swedish Government to “contribute to the creation of knowledge regarding a fast, smart and socioeconomically efficient electrification of the transport sector”. This report presents the part of the commission that describes how digitalization, including the importance of European Data Spaces, connectivity, and innovative solutions, can further accelerate and streamline electrification in the field of transport. 

The electrified transport system can be described as an interconnection of three infrastructures, where the digital infrastructure interconnects the transport and energy infrastructures, via connectivity. In addition, there is a fourth infrastructure, the legal infrastructure, that sets the legal conditions for data sharing. 

Dialogues and discussions have been held with various actors within government and municipality with knowledge in transport, energy and digital infrastructure as well as with the trade and industry, to understand the barriers that exist for accelerating the electrification of transports. 

Most of the consulted actors have pointed out similar difficulties regarding electrification of transport, such as uncertainties linked to investments and time for charging. Collaboration between different actors is required, which in turn mainly concerns data sharing. Digital information across sector boundaries is a prerequisite for creating innovative solutions that can contribute to creating added value for electrified transport, but sharing data is a major barrier. The lack of digital and technical competence and resources as well as concerns about IT security and liability issues are some of the barriers that exist for sharing data. Legal frameworks, and standardized ways of data sharing will therefore be an important piece of the puzzle. The report also describes the European Data Spaces, which are potential enablers for data sharing as they are cross-border both between sectors and EU borders and include large digital systems as well as the involvement of many actors.

The report focuses on the commercial feasibility of a battery-swapping system for heavy trucks in Sweden. By studying business models, the compatibility with Swedish regulations, and integration into transport operations, we explore how disruptive technologies, ecosystem effects, and circularity could enable a rapid introduction and diffusion of a battery-swapping system. A special focus is on China, covering the status of battery-swapping there and analysing the processes that have led to its rapid development and deployment. In China, battery-swapping creates a new business model where actors from energy production, battery manufacturing, and the mechanical industry spearhead the development and diffusion of the technology. Battery-swapping is now the dominant technology for electric trucks in China.

Advantages of battery-swapping include: only a few minutes battery swap time, reduced investment for truck owners, low impact on the local power grid, and separation of vehicle and battery life cycles. A simulation study in this report shows that battery-swapping for heavy trucks in harbour operations could offer clear advantages compared to cable charging. However, there are several challenges to introducing battery-swapping in Sweden. First, it has no clear promoters in the industry. Swedish and European vehicle manufacturers are hesitant because it challenges their current business model, and that they may instead take the role of gatekeeper. Second, current standards and regulatory frameworks for vehicles and energy systems in Sweden and in the European Union do not include battery-swapping. The report also addresses the need for knowledge and training of people at battery-swapping stations, and the importance of social sustainability in the electrification of heavy vehicle transport operations.

The government has commissioned the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) to “contribute to the building of knowledge around a fast, smart and economically efficient electrification of the transport sector”. This report focusses on the part of the mission that deals with conducting pilot projects and developing models for how data, in practice, can be made available, shared and utilized in the best way to optimize planning, development, operation for charging infrastructure and business models. 

The report provides a description of existing technologies for charging electric vehicles, important user perspectives, and how business models and systems for charging infrastructure can be modelled. 

The report focuses on data sharing and describes how actors today share data and what difficulties they see with data sharing. This includes, among other things, data availability, sharing and utilization, as well as how the actors want it to work going forward. A major challenge concerns data availability, where actors partly see problems with getting access to data and partly are hesitant to want to share their own data. Often, it is about privacy issues and regulation according to the GDPR. 

The importance of a well-functioning collaboration between the energy and transport sectors has been highlighted in previous reports from this assignment. 

The importance of digitalization and digital infrastructure that connects these sectors is particularly emphasized in this work. Digitalization is needed to streamline planning, development and operation of the infrastructure that an electrified transport system requires. The modeling done in this part of the assignment deals with transport modeling and energy modeling as well as development to make the models interact.

Unprecedented investments in clean energy technology are required for a net-zero carbon energy system before temperatures breach the Paris Agreement goals. By performing a Monte-Carlo Analysis with the detailed ETSAP-TIAM Integrated Assessment Model and by generating 4000 scenarios of the world's energy system, climate and economy, we find that the uncertainty surrounding technology costs, resource potentials, climate sensitivity and the level of decoupling between energy demands and economic growth influence the efficiency of climate policies and accentuate investment risks in clean energy technologies. Contrary to other studies relying on exploring the uncertainty space via model intercomparison, we find that the CO2 emissions and CO2 prices vary convexly and nonlinearly with the discount rate and climate sensitivity over time. Accounting for this uncertainty is important for designing climate policies and carbon prices to accelerate the transition. In 70% of the scenarios, a 1.5 °C temperature overshoot was within this decade, calling for immediate policy action. Delaying this action by ten years may result in 2 °C mitigation costs being similar to those required to reach the 1.5 °C target if started today, with an immediate peak in emissions, a larger uncertainty in the medium-term horizon and a higher effort for net-zero emissions.

Visions of smart energy systems are increasingly influencing energy systems around the world. Many visions entail ideas of more efficient versions of existing large-scale energy systems, where smart grids serve to balance energy consumption and demand over large areas. At the other end of the spectrum are visions of smart energy places that represent a challenge to dominant, large-scale energy systems, based on smart microgrids that facilitate the self-sufficiency of local, decentralized energy systems. Whereas smart energy places do not necessarily aim to create completely isolated microgrids, they generally aim to strengthen the connection between energy consumption and production within delimited spaces. The aim of this article is to better understand how visions of smart energy places are translated into sociomaterial configurations. Smart Grid Gotland and Climate-Smart Hyllie were two Swedish initiatives where notions of place were central to the attempts to reconfigure the local energy system. Several solutions proposed within these smart energy places struggled because of regulatory lock-in to the existing spatial arrangements of the electricity market. There was a mismatch between the larger spatial scales institutionalized in the Swedish electricity market and the smaller scales introduced in these smart energy places. The conflicting spatial arrangements between electricity market and these initiatives suggest that demonstrations of smart energy places require some degree of protection from market regulations. Without this protection, visions of smart energy places might instead result in incremental changes to existing large-scale energy systems.

This is the report of a part of a government assignment (I2021 / 02212) on how electrification of road transport can be accelerated economically efficient. VTI’s work has consisted of compiling investigations and research. 

The most important conclusions are the following: The expansion of charging infrastructure may need to be accelerated. This should be done by analyzing where an increased supply of charging infrastructure can have a major effect. To enable such acceleration, the expansion of electricity networks may also need to be accelerated. This can be done by increasing the price differentiation of electricity network services and by subsidizing the expansion of electricity networks.

This study assesses the potential for decarbonizing EU road transport through several pathways, focusing on the feasibility of achieving impact by 2035. Through comprehensive literature review, we compare the distance-levelized cost, lifecycle GHG emissions, and scalability of combustion engine vehicles (three fuels), battery-electric vehicles (BEVs, three charging methods), and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. We consider projected transport growth and the current age composition and use of vehicles in Europe, segmented into four regions. Biofuels, hydrogen, and e-fuels are not found to have potential to significantly contribute to further GHG emissions before 2035 due to scalability and technological limitations. BEVs emerge as the only viable strategy for achieving zero tailpipe emissions at scale, with effective lifecycle GHG reductions constrained by the rate of decarbonization of steel production, battery production and EU electricity production. By 2035, embodied battery emissions are expected to be the dominant source of lifecycle emissions from electric vehicles.

The environmental benefits of a BEV transition are primarily limited by the rate at which the vehicle stock can be electrified, with new electric vehicle sales contributing primarily to decarbonization in Northen and Western Europe. Combining the expected buildout of static charging infrastructure with a proposed pan-European Electric Road System (ERS) network is found to greatly accelerate the transition to electrified road transport, including in otherwise late-to-decarbonize segments, by removing cost, weight, and supply barriers to retrofitting older combustion engine cars with new electric powertrains. Other effects of an ERS network are found to be substantially reduced embodied emissions from BEV production, resulting from reduced battery capacity per vehicle, and reduced levelized freight costs. However, possibly insurmountable political and bureaucratic barriers must be overcome ERS to play any meaningful part in decarbonization of road transport within the coming decade. If the barriers can be overcome, the economic and ecological rewards are substantial.

When ships are docked, fossil-fueled engines are commonly used on board to provide power to the vessel. However, new EU legislation mandates that by 2030, ports must provide and some ships must use Onshore Power Supply (OPS) to meet this energy demand. These requirements, however, do not apply to the so-called tramp shipping, which refers to maritime transport without fixed schedules or predetermined routes, and which is the focus of this study. This project examines the potential for the use of OPS in the bulk, tanker, and dry cargo segments by identifying the socioeconomically optimal number of ports with shore power for these vessel segments. Modeled outcomes are compared for profit maximizing and welfare-maximizing pricing of shore power, and it is found that pricing is crucial in realizing potential socioeconomic net benefits.

Under a welfare-maximizing pricing scheme, where reduced external costs of carbon dioxide emissions and air pollution are included in the pricing, net benefits can be achieved through a limited expansion of shore power in a number of key ports. We show how such pricing in practice often results in a negative price for onshore power for the shipping companies, something that can be achieved through subsidies. Under a profit-maximizing pricing scheme, where the price of shore power is set so that the entire potential economic surplus created accrues to the port, the overall net benefits are lower. Therefore, policies aimed at increasing the expansion and use of shore power for tramp shipping need to address the profitability of shipping companies and ports, and should focus on the pricing of electricity in ports. An alternative is to internalize the external costs of conventional fuels, and by doing so make OPS more profitable relatively speaking.

The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) has been commissioned by the Government of Sweden to “contribute to the creation of knowledge regarding a fast, smart and socioeconomically efficient electrification of the transport sector”. This report describes the current state of electrification of shipping and also policy instruments in Sweden, at the international level and in other countries that have been introduced to accelerate the electrification of shipping. VTI produces additional reports that correspond to the other subjects and reporting dates specified in the Government’s commission.

Shipping is electrified to a very small extent, as only about 340 of more than 98 000 ships in December 2021 had some sort of electric propulsion. Since hydrogen and battery propulsion are associated with higher costs, lower energy density (and large energy losses in the case of hydrogen propulsion) as well as requiring more space compared to conventional propulsion, electrification is best suited for ferries and other vessels operating on shorter, fixed routes with many stops.

The majority of the policy instruments at the international level and in Sweden identified in the report are intended to promote investments in both Onshore Power Supply (OPS) as well as battery and hydrogen propulsion. This applies, for example, to environmentally differentiated port and fairway fees, environmental legislation and support for investments and research. The policy instruments in other countries identified in the report in many cases promote the electrification of individual vessels, for example through targeted investment support for retrofitting of and construction of new ships, and through requirements for electric propulsion in the procurement of publicly owned vessels and public transport. Norway is investing significant amounts in a green transition of shipping, combined with future requirements for low- and zero-emission vessels in Norwegian waters.

With the implementation of the European Commission’s ‘Fit for 55’ legislative proposal, the internalization of emission costs may increase, incentivizing investments in the electrification of shipping. The proposal includes taxation of shipping fuel, an emissions trading system for shipping and carbon dioxide-based fuel requirements.

The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) has been commissioned by the Government to “contribute to the creation of knowledge regarding a fast, smart and socioeconomically efficient electrification of the transport sector”. This report presents the results of the investigation on knowledge gaps in key actors concerning the electrification of the transport system and gives suggestions for learning and knowledge exchange. 

This investigation was performed as an interview study. Key actors were identified using a model of the transport systems’ different functions including new functions due to electrification. The study encompasses all relevant electrification technologies and transport modes, with emphasis on road. 

The transformation towards electrified vehicles is characterized by much uncertainty. Most actors in our study speak of an enormous need for knowledge. A significant uncertainty lies in how the new system should be formed and who should be responsible for what. The different sub-systems relevant for electrification are dependent on each other, e.g. vehicles are dependent on adaptations in infrastructure and regulation. Progression in each sub-system takes a different pace which affects progression of the whole system and increases uncertainty for many actors. 

Knowledge gaps exist on different levels. Practical knowledge concerning implementation and usage of the new technology is missing – in other terms, a lack of experience. Sometimes, though, it is all about understanding each other’s sub-systems and roles. Transfer of the most basic knowledge between different sub-systems is needed. 

Collaboration is seen as very important to increase and spread knowledge. It is common to collaborate within projects and by participating in different networks. Dissemination works well amongst those actively taking part in current developments and we can see indications that certain knowledge gaps will be closed given enough time. However, there is a need to spread knowledge wider, especially to smaller, regional actors and the general public. 

If the pace for electrifying the transport system should increase reaching out to a majority is needed. Many actors say that knowledge plays a role in this, but that it is more important to ensure to get infrastructure in place and to address economic issues.

This study has developed and applied a framework to analyse barriers, opportunities, and potential solutions for the diffusion of alternative fuels, here exemplified by liquefied biogas (LBG) for heavy trucks. The study is based on expert and stakeholder interviews in Sweden. Also, the study estimates a cost example of using heavy duty LBG-trucks instead of conventional diesel trucks. The framework is based on two previously published frameworks to categorise barriers, opportunities, and potential solutions and comprises five categories: financial, technical/commercial/physical, policy, public acceptability, and market structure/interaction barriers. Each category considers both the system and actor levels. The results of this study fit the framework's categories well, and the framework is appropriate for analysing the diffusion of liquefied biogas for heavy trucks, and other technologies with similar characteristics. The results further indicate that a network level, in addition to the system and actor levels, could advance our understanding of renewable energy diffusion. The most mentioned opportunities were climate/environmental benefits, potential profitability, and newly introduced policies. The cost estimates show that given current taxes and policies in Sweden, the costs of using LBG-trucks are only marginally higher than those of using conventional diesel trucks. Commonly cited barriers were financial issues, an unstable policy context, lack of infrastructure, and lack of knowledge. Suggested solutions for overcoming barriers were financial incentives, a stable policy context, demonstration projects, and information campaigns. Improved knowledge and working together throughout the biogas value chain, with a palette of renewable energy options, are important for accelerating a sustainable renewable fuel diffusion. Several policy instruments that currently exists in Sweden already target the mentioned barriers. Thus, it is important to continuously evaluate policy instruments to understand if they are effective and efficient, or if anything need to be changed to reach the targets of the policy instrument. © 2021 The Authors

Electrification of vehicles is driven by the need to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, more energy and material resources are needed to build electric drivetrains. This is true primarily for batteries, but also for other components in the electric drivetrain, such as electric motors. This report focusses electric traction motors for road vehicles and how they can be adapted to the circular economy. 

Materials in electric motors with substantial environmental and resource impacts are aluminum, electric steel, copper, and magnet materials. Their production requires energy use which causes related greenhouse gas emissions. Copper production is also a source ofemissions of toxic metals. Copper and magnet metals such as cobalt and rare earth metals (to which neodymium and dysprosium belong) are geologically scarce. The whole group of rare earth metals, and cobalt, are also classified as critical by the EU. This means that they constitute a supply risk while being economically important. All mentioned materials contribute substantially to material costs. Strategies to improve resource efficiency include minimization of the amount of material, substitution of materials, renovation and prolongingthe lifetime of the motor and its components, and recycling to high quality materials. 

More circular material flows for electric vehicles require that vehicles and their components are designed for a long lifetime, for reuse and for recycling to high quality materials and that the End-of-Life system is well suited to manage used vehicles, and the components and materials therein. For this reason, the project reported here aimed at:

• Recommendations for design of electric traction motors which fulfill requirements for high efficiency and other desired technical performance, and at the same time are well suited for a more circular economy
• Recommendations for the development of the End-of-Life system for vehicles to utilize and valorize vehicle components designed for a more circular economy

Samhällets omställning till fossilfri energi innebär bland annat en ökad elektrifiering. I sin tur innebär en ökad elektrifiering också en högre efterfrågan på nya anslutningar till och behov av ökad kapacitet i elnätet. Syftet med delrapporten är att analysera två specifika fallstudier för att belysa utmaningar och möjligheter i interaktionen mellan elfordon och elnät. Den första fallstudien behandlar utbyggnad av laddstationer för personbilar i ett flerbostadshus respektive en villa, medan den andra fallstudien behandlar utbyggnad av laddstationer för ellastbilar. Fallen är uppbyggda utifrån olika nivåer med en gradvis mer utvecklad integration mellan fordon och nät och en ökande komplexitet i användningen av smart laddning. I fallen studeras faktorer såsom påverkan på elnätet, ekonomiska aspekter, samt organisatoriska och juridiska frågor. Resultaten visar att laddning av personbilar i flerbostadhus och villor kan göras utan lokala nätförstärkningar även då en stor andel av bilarna är elbilar. Däremot kan kapacitetsproblem uppstå högre upp i nätet vilket behöver haneras av nätägaren. För lastbilar uppstår snabbt behov av ökad kapacitet hos åkerier när antalet elfordon ökar. Då ledtiderna är långa för en utbyggnad av elnätskapacitet kan interrimslösningar behövas i form av extra batterikapacitet och regeländringar som möjliggör effektivare utnyttjande av nät- och laddkapacitet.

In comparison with current financing mechanisms for renewable energy systems, crowd-funding financing mechanism offers a new potential source of financing with recent use of social media. Crowd-funding financing mechanism can also increases the social supports for renewable energy systems as users and investors turn to be more actively engaged in energy systems. As a new potential source of financing, crowd-funding mechanism has different forms, including donation, lending, equity and product reward approaches. In this paper, discrete choice model was used to explore whether crowd-funding financing with a novel sociotechnical product reward practice, has the attractions for potential customers to pay for a more sustainable milk product with distributed photovoltaic (PV) system. We empirically investigated the reward-base crowd funding with the specific integrated photovoltaic water pumping (PVWP) system in dairy milk production in China. 48 in-depth interviews were adopted for qualitative analysis of determinants of customer milk purchase decision. The ordered probit regression was employed with 357 online surveys to systematically estimate the purchase intention for the online-crowd-funding sustainable milk. Customer behaviours, environmental consciousness, and the individual socio-demographic factors were tested as potential explanatory variables. In the survey and depth interview samples, we found interviewees as potential customers showed strong purchase intentions to the crowd funding dairy milk for noticing milk quality and nutritious improvement, emission reduction and environmental benefits by the integrated PVWP system. In our findings of the regression results, the females, customers with young children or planning to have children were found with higher willing to purchase than other customers for crowd funding the sustainable dairy milk. The familiarity and popularity with online shopping and pre-sale purchase in China made customers more open and active towards pre-pay and crowd-funding mechanism.