The Climobil web application lets users understand why, how, and in which cases electromobility is performing according to its green image, by cutting per-km emissions from its fossil fuel-based counterpart. Based on a simplified life cycle assessment model, the tool is scientifically sound while its objective is primarily pedagogic.
Additionally, Climobil provides the exact context and conditions under which electric vehicles may “counter perform”: what happens when the battery size changes? Or the background electricity mix? The battery lifetime? What about winter conditions affecting battery performances?
The web application provides information to compare internal combustion engine vehicles and electric vehicles from 84 different brands and more than 8500 different models from 2005 to 2019.
There are more than a dozen different parameters that can be adjusted to obtain the most precise and fair comparison: annual mileage, battery capacity, electric car range, greenhouse gas emissions of battery recycling, NEDC-to-real world ratio[ Pre-2019 models have consumption and emissions advertised following the NEDC protocol, whose lab conditions tend to underestimate real-world values. Since 2020, a more realistic scheme, WLTP, applies.], etc.
The web application is available in French and in English and allows the users to download the different parameters and results as csv files, to reproduce the results obtained.
The application is built around 3 main modules plus the parametrization module. The first module allows to select two vehicles (one electric, one internal combustion) to compare, the second module provides a comparison in terms of life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions, in g of CO2 equivalent per kilometre (including complete production and maintenance), and the third module provides break even information in terms of the total emission in tons of CO2 equivalent per vehicle and average emissions in grams of CO2 equivalent per kilometre.
Background:
“Are electric cars indeed environmentally-friendly?” has become an increasingly recurrent question.
Fossil fuel-based mobility is inevitably linked with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; but electric cars, although more efficient and devoid of any tailpipe emissions, also generate GHG emissions.
The media have spotted in very different ways the advantages and disadvantages of electromobility, not always comparing comparable vehicles, and sometimes even providing misleading, incomplete and inaccurate information. As of 2021, the question whether the GHG emissions from alternative powertrains are lower than those of conventional vehicles is still being debated, as is shown by the publication of an open letter to the EU by automotive researchers, claiming that CO2 emissions from EV production are vastly underestimated.
There is therefore a need to clarify what the environmental impacts of electric cars (battery-based, hybrid, or even fuel cell vehicles), along the three following priorities:
Benefits:
Climobil web is built using accurate car weights and the fastest user experience of car comparators. A change in a parameter is immediately seen in the web user interface, without need to recalculate and wait for the new values to be visualized.
Compared to similar calculators online, Climobil is not more powerful or sophisticated, but user feedback indicates that the responsive features are highly appreciated. The fact that results change dynamically when using a slider is key to final users. The extensive database of vehicles is another valued asset.
Climobil web is built using accurate car weights and the fastest user experience of car comparators. A change in a parameter is immediately seen in the web user interface, without need to recalculate and wait for the new values to be visualized.
Compared to similar calculators online, Climobil is not more powerful or sophisticated, but user feedback indicates that the responsive features are highly appreciated. The fact that results change dynamically when using a slider is key to final users. The extensive database of vehicles is another valued asset
Applications:
Climobil can be reused in the early electrification market, to provide more accurate environmental impacts of the old internal combustion engines being retrofit to use electric motors.
Climobil can be used to provide an environmental impact assessment not only across 2 cars, but also for a full fleet, and beyond just greenhouse gas emissions, to include also material depletion, particulate matter formation, land or water use, etc.
Opportunity:
We are looking for opportunities to improve the tool, namely via collaborating with fleet managers, vehicle database managers, graphic designers.
The tool is mostly pedagogic and serves as a vitrine for lifecycle assessment research. The website also provides great visibility to LIST and any collaborator, from a very wide audience.
Desired business relationship
Licensing
The Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) is a mission-driven Research and Technology Organisation (RTO) active in the fields of materials, environment and IT.
LIST develops competitive and market-oriented product/service prototypes for public and private stakeholders, and works across the entire innovation chain: fundamental/applied research, incubation, transfer of technologies.
By transforming scientific knowledge into technologies, smart data and tools, LIST empowers citizens in their choices, public authorities in their decisions and businesses in their strategies.
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