Evaluation of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions for electric vehicles in Nordic climate conditions

Abstract

This research evaluates the energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of electric vehicles in Nordic climate conditions. The energy sources and CO2 emissions of electricity generation in the European Nordic countries were presented. The vehicle energy consumption was analyzed based on numerous simulations in different driving cycles and ambient conditions. Daily average energy consumption was calculated based on the temperature data from three different cities in Finland. Vehicle operation CO2 emissions were calculated based on monthly average energy consumption and average CO2 emissions of the electricity generation. The research results clearly show that the energy consumption of electric vehicles is much higher in cold climate conditions. Because the CO2 emissions of the electricity generation are high during the winter months in Finland, the vehicle CO2 emissions are much higher during winter months than in the summer. Due to the relatively low CO2 emissions of the electricity generation in most of the Nordic countries, the CO2 emissions from the vehicle production are more important during vehicle lifecycle.