Electric Vehicles

: Lifecycle Emissions, Adoption Factors, and Infrastructure

Abstract

The transition to EVs is widely viewed as a key strategy for reducing emissions from the transport sector. This thesis evaluates the life cycle emissions of EVs, investigates factors affecting the distribution of EV adoption, as well as assesses charging infrastructures for the expected increase in charging demand. For the life cycle emissions, the average mileages in the UK for selected vehicles are used to estimate the potential reduction in CO2 emissions from transitioning to EVs. Results showed that EVs require five years of operation for typical vehicles in the UK to show a reduction in CO2 emissions compared to other fuel types. For the factors affecting EV adoption variability, potential factors measured at the local authority level in England, where similar policies and incentives are applied, were utilised in a spatial analysis. The analysis covers growth rates between 2015 to 2021 in electricity and gas consumption, photovoltaic installations, and privately registered vehicles. A Spatial Error Model was used in the analysis, with results indicating that the highest impact on the adoption variability is attributed to the reduction rate in electricity consumption. The results suggest that economic factors and environmental awareness have the highest impact on the distribution of EV adoption. The assessment of the charging infrastructure within the city of Bristol is presented in this thesis, where a new framework and approach are presented to estimate the potential charging demand distribution across the charging stations. The study assumes a routine charging demand generated from limited at-home charging and a harmonised distribution of the charging demand across the charging stations. Findings of the assessment highlight the infrastructure capability to support potential demand in 2030, with the requirement for future upgrades by 2040. The study also assesses the viability of transforming petrol stations into charging stations as a potential upgrade path.

Date of Award	20 Jan 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Supervisor	Theo Tryfonas (Supervisor) & R E Wilson (Supervisor)