Temporal variability and Battery Electric Vehicles influence on LCA impacts of marginal electricity consumption in Italy

The electricity process is recognized to be one of the main drivers of LCA results for Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs). Moreover, the spreading of BEVs is projected to significantly increase electricity demand, with repercussions on the electricity mix as well. The present paper aims at analysing the variability of the LCA results of the electricity consumption, both across the different months of the year and among different scenarios of BEV penetration in Italy. This paper presents a white box model of the Italian electricity system, coupled with a consequential LCA model between 2016 and 2030. The analysis indicates that the deviations of impact indicators with respect to the yearly average results may be up to 30% across summer and winter months, while increasing the number of BEVs up to 50% of the circulating fleet may further shift monthly results by 60%, with respect to the reference scenario.