CO2 reduction exploiting RES for EV charging

Abstract

The world is facing an urgent need to reduce emissions, limiting pollution for a better quality of life. This objective has to be reached by all cities and governments worldwide. This paper focuses on the field of transportation, which is greatly responsible for air pollution, mainly in cities and urban areas such as towns, airports and seaports. The diffusion of electric vehicles (EVs) enables a significant reduction of air pollutants emitted by combustion engines; however, their recharge can affect the total pollution by their increasing energy demand. A solution is the use of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) to charge EVs. This paper analyzes the feasibility of integrating EVs and RES, focusing on the air pollution reduction benefits. This study uses data collected in Italy. After an analysis of the energy production by RES and the size of the vehicle fleet over time in Italy, an evaluation of the number of EVs as a function of the State Of Charge (SOC) and energy is introduced. Finally, the expected emissions reduction derived from the change of vehicle fleet is calculated.