Assessing greenhouse gas emissions and costs of Brazilian light-duty vehicles

José Eduardo Holler Branco, Fernando Vinícius da Rocha, Thiago Guilherme Péra, Fernando Pauli de Bastiani, Daniela Bacchi Bartholomeu, Everton Lima Costa and Isaias Grilo Junior

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2024, vol. 206, issue C

Abstract: With the growing concern on climate change, many governments are making efforts to substitute fossil-fuel passenger vehicles in order to meet the urgent need for low-carbon and renewable fuels. Electric and hybrid vehicles reflect the increasing interest in clean and energy-efficient options. Nevertheless, the large-scale adoption of full electric is challenged in some regions due to the higher cost of these vehicles. This research presents a framework to assess the total cost and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in three types of technologies currently present in Brazil: fully electric, hybrid, and combustion flex-fuel cars. Brazil's light-duty fleet is a compelling case because it is mainly composed of flex-fuel engine combustion cars. The country also has strong conditions to supply this fleet with ethanol at a large scale with competitive prices. According to our results, full electric can reduce GHG emissions by 85 % if compared to gasoline-powered combustion. Nevertheless, there is a 96 % higher cost per kilometer in comparison to flex-fuel combustion vehicles. Flex-fuel hybrid fueled with ethanol can reduce GHG emissions by 76 %. Combustion flex-fuel vehicles can reduce 59 % of GHG emissions with no additional cost when powered by ethanol. Our findings show that hybrid cars fueled with ethanol are a more cost-viable option for reducing the Brazilian light vehicle fleet carbon footprint in a short time. The methodological approach presented in this study can be replicated in other regions to analyze trade-offs between costs and GHG emissions, thus helping plan the most appropriate path for the light-duty fleet energy transition.

Keywords: Light-duty vehicle emissions; Electric vehicles; Hybrid vehicles; Ethanol vehicles; Light-duty vehicle costs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2024.114845

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