The influence of battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle application on CO2 emissions

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the growth in sales of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and Plug-in Hybrid-Electric Vehicle (PHEVs) in the world, Europe, and Montenegro for the period from 2011 to 2020. The percentage share of sold EVs (Electric vehicles) (BEVs and PHEVs) in the total number of vehicles sold for the mentioned period is also shown. It can be noted that the number of BEVs and PHEVs sold in the world and in Europe is constantly increasing for the period from 2011 to 2020. It was noticed that there is also an increase in the share of BEVs and PHEVs, but it is still very small. As BEVs and PHEVs(when powered by an electric motor) use electricity for propulsion, it is very important to explore the way electricity is produced by sources, which was done in the paper. Electricity is produced not so cleanly, but there is a constant increase in the share of renewable energy sources (RES) in electricity production. Electricity production in the world is dominated by coal and natural gas. An overview of electricity consumption by sector in the world, Europe, and Montenegro is given. For the period from 2011 to 2020, this paper provides an overview of CO2 emissions by sector. The largest amount of CO2 emission is emitted in the electricity generation and heating sector. The transport sector also emits a large amount of CO2 emissions. The transport sector and the electricity/heating production sector are the two sectors that have been targeted as the main culprits for the constant increase in CO2 emissions. In Europe, the total CO2 emission is in a slight decline, which is a consequence of the EU's great efforts to reduce this emission from the mentioned two sectors. In this paper, it was shown that the number of BEVs and PHEVs, as well as their share in the total number of vehicles, is still too small to significantly impact the reduction of CO2 emissions at the global level.