Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles: A Viable Option for Sweden?

Abstract

Transportation accounts for around one third of CO2 emissions in Sweden. Personal cars in Sweden have one of the highest average fuel demands per km in Europe. Mitigation strategies involve mandatory biofuel shares together with high taxation on gasoline and diesel fuels. From the current situation, one possible step to further increase car fuel efficiency is adoption of hybrid drivelines, which could be especially interesting with high pump prices. Furthermore the Swedish electricity production is highly carbon neutral; therefore it may be desirable to use electricity from the grid to power personal vehicles. Here we investigate under which circumstances plug-in extensions of hybrids with different all-electric range are cost-effective options for energy and fuel savings. It is shown that plug-ins with a reasonably small all-electric range (30-40 km) for a wide range of circumstances could become a viable option in comparison to conventional, hybrid electric, and electric vehicles. The implications of large scale application of such a system in Sweden on the energy demand, electricity, and the potential for bioenergy to cover all the personal transport demands are outlined.