An electric taxi fleet charged by second use batteries: not just economic profit

Abstract

Purpose

The road transport sector is the second biggest CO2 emissions contributor after energy generation. In urban environments, its impact is increased due to the worse combustion engine driving efficiency. It is thought that electric mobility might bring some relief to big cities’ polluted air. At the same time, car manufacturers are searching for second battery applications in order to reduce its manufacture cost and make electric cars achievable for most people. This paper seeks to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This study presents an economic and environmental approach of an electric taxi fleet charged with second use electric car batteries. The environment impact comes from the possible CO2 emissions reduction due to the use of electricity instead of fuel and from reusing the old electric car batteries instead of brand new ones. On the economic side, apart from the financial and consumption costs and profits, the Kyoto protocol trades permit an economic evaluation of the benefits achieved.

Findings

The results show that improvements come together with the type of electric generation technology, but it is clear that if both sectors (road transport and energy generation) are treated together, the emissions might substantially drop.

Originality/value

The originality of this article comes from taking into account two environmental issues in the project: the reuse of “old batteries” from electric cars to enlarge their useful life and the gas emissions analysis.

Citation

Canals Casals, L. and Amante García, B. (2013), "An electric taxi fleet charged by second use batteries: not just economic profit", World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 186-194. https://doi.org/10.1108/WJSTSD-04-2013-0018