In their life cycle assessment, both the ifo Institute for Economic Research and Volkswagen not only take into account the_{CO2 emissions} of electric vehicles during their use phase. Both also include the production phase in their analysis and the type of energy sources required for manufacturing and charging the batteries. The VW Group also includes the recycling of the vehicles in its analysis. While VW compares two Golf models with different drive systems, the ifo Institute pits a 'Tesla Model 3' against a diesel ('Mercedes C 220 d'). The respective arguments:

ifo Institute: "E-cars are not a panacea for climate protection!"

According to the authors of the ifo Institute, the_{CO2 emissions} of battery-electric cars are only just above those of a vehicle with a diesel engine in the most favorable case, but otherwise far higher. They take into account Germany's current energy mix and the energy required for battery production. In the study, Christoph Buchal (professor of physics at the University of Cologne), ifo energy expert Hans-Dieter Karl and former ifo President Hans-Werner Sinn (professor emeritus at the University of Munich) argue on the basis of concrete examples of a modern electric car and a modern diesel vehicle.

The authors criticize the fact that EU legislators include the_{CO2 emissions} of electric cars with a value of "0" in the calculations of fleet emissions. This suggests that electric cars do not cause any emissions. However, according to the researchers, in addition to_{CO2 emissions} during production, there are considerable_{CO2 emissions} in almost all EU countries due to the charging of the batteries using electricity from the respective national production mix. In addition, lithium, cobalt and manganese for the batteries are extracted and processed with high energy input. A battery for a 'Tesla Model 3' pollutes the climate with 11 to 15 tons of_CO2. With a battery life of ten years and a mileage of 15,000 km per year, this alone means 73 to 98 g_CO2/km. Then there are the_{CO2 emissions} from the electricity. The authors' conclusion: In reality, the Tesla emits between 156 and 181 g_CO2/km, which is significantly more than a comparable diesel Mercedes.

Hydrogen and methane technology is being neglected

The researchers argue that the total emissions of a combustion engine powered by natural gas are already almost a third lower than even those of a diesel engine. The researchers see great potential in electric cars powered by hydrogen or cars with combustion engines powered by "green" methane: "Methane technology is an ideal bridging technology from natural gas cars that run on conventional engines to engines that will one day be able to run on methane from_CO2-free energy sources. In this respect, the German government can only be advised to promote hydrogen and methane technology in the spirit of technological openness," emphasizes Hans-Werner Sinn. "In the long term, hydrogen-methane technology offers another advantage," adds Christoph Buchal. "It makes it possible to store the excess electricity peaks from wind and solar power, which will increase significantly as the proportion of this renewable electricity rises."

VW: "E-cars have a high CO2 saving potential!"

According to VW, the life cycle assessment of e-versions of the same vehicle models is already better than that of vehicles with combustion engines. The automotive group bases this on a "Life Cycle Assessment" (LCA) of the 'Volkswagen Golf'. LCA is a complex and internationally standardized procedure that is used to compare the life cycle assessment of the different vehicle versions with electric motors and combustion engines.

To calculate the life cycle assessment of a vehicle, Volkswagen divides the life of a car into three phases: production, use and recycling.

© Volkswagen

For its analysis, VW divides the "life" of a car into three phases: Production, use phase and recycling. In summary, the Group calculates average emissions of 140 g_CO2/km for the current 'Golf TDI' (diesel) over its entire life cycle. The 'e-Golf1' achieves a value of 119 g_CO2/km.

According to VW, the combustion engine produces the most emissions during the use phase - i.e. during the provision and combustion of the fossil fuel: the diesel achieves 111 g_CO2/km. An equivalent vehicle with an electric drive emits only 62 g_CO2/km in this phase, which results solely from the provision of electricity. During the use phase,_{CO2 emissions} depend on the sources used to generate the energy: the more renewable energy sources are available, the more they decrease.

In contrast, the main focus of emissions in battery-powered electric vehicles lies in production, according to VW. According to the LCA, a diesel vehicle emits 29 g_CO2/km in this phase, while 57 g_CO2/km were determined for a comparable electric vehicle. The automotive group blames battery production and the costly extraction of raw materials for this: Almost half of the_{CO2 emissions} of the entire life cycle are generated here.

Further reduction in emissions expected

According to VW, electric vehicles have a high_{CO2 savings potential}:

The further development of lithium-ion battery technology and optimizations in the supply chain will further reduce the_{amount of CO2} required to manufacture the batteries in the future. Expressed in figures: the production of batteries compared to the 'e-Golf' and the first 'ID' model will be reduced by more than 25% per kWh of battery capacity. If renewable energy is used, the reduction potential is almost 50%.

VW sees by far the greatest potential for further reducing_{CO2 emissions} in the origin of the energy during the vehicle's use phase: if the electricity comes exclusively from renewable sources, the_{CO2 emissions} during the use of the electric car will fall from 62 g_CO2/km- based on the current EU electricity mix - to just 2 g_CO2/km, according to VW.

According to VW, recycling the vehicle opens up further opportunities to reduce_{CO2 emissions}: A new raw material (black powder) for the cathodes of new batteries can be obtained from end-of-life batteries - i.e. batteries that no longer store sufficient energy due to ageing. The car manufacturer sees a potential of up to 25% here. However, VW does not expect any significant returns of batteries for recycling on an industrial scale until the end of the 2020s.