If Electric Cars Are Good for Reducing Emissions, They Could Be Even Better with Electric Roads.

This research investigates carbon footprint impacts for full fleet electrification of Swedish passenger car travel in combination with different charging conditions, including electric road system (ERS) that enables dynamic on-road charging. The research applies a prospective life cycle analysis framework for estimating carbon footprints of vehicles, fuels, and infrastructure. The framework includes vehicle stock turnover modeling of fleet electrification and modeling of optimal battery capacity for different charging conditions based on Swedish real-world driving patterns. All new car sales are assumed to be electric after 2030 following phase-out policies for gasoline and diesel cars. Implementing ERS on selected high-traffic roads could yield significant avoided emissions in battery manufacturing compared to the additional emissions in ERS construction. ERS combined with stationary charging could enable additional reductions in the cumulative carbon footprint of about 12-24 million tons of CO