Effects of integration of the electric mobility in the Italian energy sector: How to account for them in an LCA perspective

LCAs on electric mobility are providing a plethora of diverging results. The selection of the electricity mix used to recharge the vehicles has been proved to be a key aspect in determining the overall results. 26 articles published from 2008 to 2018 have been investigated to find the extent and the reason behind this deviation. The major cause of the diverging results has been identified in a lack of clear guidelines for the selection of the appropriate electricity mix. Marginal and averge electricity mixes are often used as a proxy for the development of either a consequential or an attributional LCA. According to our literature survey results, if the aim is to identify the consequences of a widespread introduction of electric vehicles, a larger system boundary has to be included (i.e. including the mutual effect of transportation on the power sector and viceversa). As a proof of concept, we modeled the effect of introducing a consistent amount of electric vehicles in the Italian fleet in 2030.