Heavy-duty trucks are one of the main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in German\ntraffic. Drivetrain electrification is an option to reduce tailpipe emissions by increasing energy\nconversion efficiency. To evaluate the vehicleâ??s environmental impacts, it is necessary to consider the\nentire life cycle. In addition to the daily use, it is also necessary to include the impact of production\nand disposal. This study presents the comparative life cycle analysis of a parallel hybrid and a\nconventional heavy-duty truck in long-haul operation. Assuming a uniform vehicle glider, only the\ndiffering parts of both drivetrains are taken into account to calculate the environmental burdens\nof the production. The use phase is modeled by a backward simulation in MATLAB/Simulink\nconsidering a characteristic driving cycle. A break-even analysis is conducted to show at what\nmileage the larger CO2eq emissions due to the production of the electric drivetrain are compensated.\nThe effect of parameter variation on the break-even mileage is investigated by a sensitivity analysis.\nThe results of this analysis show the difference in CO2eq/t km is negative, indicating that the hybrid\nvehicle releases 4.34 g CO2eq/t km over a lifetime fewer emissions compared to the diesel truck.\nThe break-even analysis also emphasizes the advantages of the electrified drivetrain, compensating\nthe larger emissions generated during production after already a distance of 15,800 km (approx.\n1.5 months of operation time). The intersection coordinates, distance, and CO2eq, strongly depend\non fuel, emissions for battery production and the driving profile, which lead to nearly all parameter\nvariations showing an increase in break-even distance.
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