The e-car is also the climate leader in the current energy mix: This finding of the Bundeswehr University is not necessarily new. What is special, however, is the database.
E-cars are significantly less harmful to the climate than cars with combustion engines, even with today's German energy mix. Researchers at the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich have determined this in a comparison of 790 current vehicles, which is unique to date. The results of the study have now been published in the specialist journal "Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews".
Diesel better than petrol
Not only the consumption was taken into account, but the complete production cycle including recycling. The gasoline engine was used as a reference. In terms of total emissions, the diesel already performs 22 percent better than the petrol engine, and in conjunction with a hybrid drive it would even be 37 percent.
The scientists rate gas drives as even better. For pure natural gas, the improvement over the petrol engine is 46 percent, for conventionally produced "grey" hydrogen it is 60 percent. Bio-gas from organic sources achieves top values, which ensures a reduction of 81 percent. In this case, however, the researchers point out the limited availability of space and resources.
Green hydrogen would also do well, as would e-cars
In the current energy mix, the pure battery e-car achieves a reduction of 65 percent over its entire service life. By using green electricity, 89 percent could be achieved. A similar value could also be achieved with fuel cell vehicles if they are powered by green hydrogen produced using renewable energy.
In terms of climate impact, battery cars, fuel cell vehicles and cars powered by biogas are on a similar level. However, the researchers point to differences in the efficiency of the individual drive types. There are large conversion losses when producing green hydrogen from electricity. Large-scale biogas production would mean, for example, the expansion of factory farming or the blocking of cultivation areas for food.