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displace its use for other purposes, and how emissions from power plants and other
combustion sources actually result in exposures and potential harm to humans and
the environment.
Exploring these uncertainties in much detail is beyond the scope of this chapter,
but is discussed in some of the studies referenced here. However below we briefly
mention a few key sources of remaining uncertainty in LCA of EV fuel cycles. We
also note that the GREET model in particular now includes the ability to include
estimates of the levels of uncertainty in key input variables, and incorporates this
capability through a graphical user interface version of the model interface that runs in
a PC Windows environment. This can be useful but of course still can benefit from
additional efforts to characterize and attempt to narrow the remaining uncertainties
themselves.

6.1 Key uncertainties in LCA analysis of GHGs from EV fuel cycles

Because GHGs are produced in myriad ways from EV fuel cycles, including both
upstream and vehicle-based emissions (in the case of PHEVs and HEVs), and because
EV technologies are still evolving, there are considerable uncertainties involved in
present-day or prospective analysis of their impacts. Over the course of the past 20
years many of these uncertainties have been narrowed—for example, the manufacturing
cost and performance of electric vehicle motors and motor controllers has become better
established—but many still remain.
Some of the key remaining uncertainties include the following:
• uncertainties in the emission rates of high GWP value gases (e.g., N2O, CH4,
refrigerants, etc.) that are emitted in lower quantities than CO2 from vehicle fuel
cycles, but that can still be significant;
• secondary impacts such as indirect land use change and macroeconomics;
• climate impacts of emissions of typically overlooked but potentially important
pollutants such as oxides of sulfur, ozone precursors, and PM;
• rate of future vehicle and fueling system performance improvements;
• potential “wild cards” in future fuels production processes, such as the successful
introduction of carbon capture and sequestration; and
• breakthroughs in electricity, advanced biofuel, or H2 production.
As time goes on, we can expect more to be learned about these key areas, and for the
remaining uncertainties to be narrowed. At the same time, new fuel cycles based on
evolving technology are likely to become available but with potentially significant
uncertainties until more is learned about them in turn (e.g., diesel-type fuels from
algae, new types of PHEVs running on various fuels, other new types of synthetic
Fischer–Tropsch process and bio-based fuels, etc.). The significant amount of research
currently underway is encouraging, but given the pressing nature of the energy and