Literature Review - Electric Vehicles Life Cycle Assessment

These days it is notable that the responsibilities regarding the environment are involving issues as climate change, changes in ecosystems, depletion of stratospheric ozone layer, even changes in hydrological systems, soil degradation, etc. Hence, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was created to evaluate the consequences of the product's behavior on the environment. Through this analysis it will be possible to follow a final product from the extraction and processing of the necessary raw material, considering all its phases of production, transport, use, cost-effectiveness, maintenance and recycling or until its reintegration into the environment. LCA encompasses risk estimation and environmental impact and, based on International Standards ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, this methodology can be applied at every phase of the product's life cycle. This scientific paper synthesizes the studies on the following subjects: the increasing importance of the electrical vehicle's manufactory, the current situation of implementing sustainable development of electric vehicle (EV) components, along with a discussion of neglecting LCA applications, as a premise for balancing the negative impact of a product during its long-life cycle for the environment. Thus, the purpose of this scientific article is a review of the most relevant scientific articles written based on a life cycle impact assessment approach of EVs or its components (battery, electric motor, etc.). It will be discussed in depth the importance of an LCA analysis in each step of its implementation, the related main topics in the previous analyses, as well as the interpretation of the results obtained.