Scania ‘positive’ on EVs and says half its volumes could be electric by 2030

Scania has published a life cycle assessment (LCA) of distribution vehicles which concludes that the environmental impact of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) “is significantly lower” than that of a vehicle with an internal combustion engine. 

The assesment is an ISO 14040/44 method to calculate the environmental impacts of products, covering the entire life cycle from cradle to grave, starting at the extracting and refining of raw materials and ending at the recovery of the vehicles. 

“As the heavy commercial vehicle industry converts into a higher share of battery electric vehicles, we have to ask ourselves, are the battery electric vehicles truly good for the environment when we look over the full life cycle?” Scania’s head of sustainability Andreas Follér says. 

“The impact generated is not from the tailpipe emissions, so the industry needs to rethink what we mean by environmental impact. With this study, we have the clear answers.” 

The production of the BEV entails a higher environmental impact, mainly due to energy intensive battery cell manufacturing. 

Despite the increased production burden, the total life cycle impact on climate change is “dramatically better” for the battery electric vehicles, thanks to the much lower carbon impact from the use phase, Scania says. 

For trucks operating in EU, life cycle carbon emissions are reduced by 38% (EU mix 2016) to 63% (prognosed EU mix 2030). 

If switched to green electricity, it reaches a carbon emission reduction over the life cycle of 86%, the company says. 

Scania says the BEV has the potential to have less climate impact than an internal combustion engine within one or two years of operation. 

The battery cells stands for a bit over 40% of the carbon emissions coming from production of BEVs

However, there is “big potential” for improved emission levels from the production of battery electric vehicles as the battery industry continuously decarbonises and the use of green electricity continuously increases, it says. 

“We expect that the total cost of operation for the majority of our customers will be positive for battery electric vehicles during this decade and half our volumes might well have an electric driveline by 2030. 

“The race towards zero emissions will be about decarbonising the processes and materials needed to assemble the future truck and buses,” Follér says. 

Scania made some key partnerships on it journey towards zero emission technology. This includes Northvolt which aims to produce the world’s greenest battery and with H2 Green Steel which aims to reduce the carbon footprint in the production phase.