CSD19/2011/BP9UNITEDNATIONSDEPARTMENTOFECONOMICANDSOCIALAFFAIRSCommissiononSustainableDevelopmentNineteenthSessionNewYork,2-13May2011ELECTRICVEHICLESINTHECONTEXTOFSUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENTINCHINAPreparedbyRobertEarleyLipingKangFengAnandLuciaGreen-WeiskelTheInnovationCenterforEnergyandTransportation(iCET)BeijingLosAngelesNewYorkBackgroundPaperNo.9CSD19/2011/BP9CSD19/2011/BP9CONTENTSI.Introduction1II.China’selectricautomotivetechnologydevelopment2A.Batterytechnologydevelopment2B.Electricvehicledevelopment5III.China’spolicysupportforelectrificationoftransport8A.TheMinistryofScienceandTechnologyandthe“863Programme”8B.Bilateralcooperationinelectricvehicledevelopment10IV.Life-cyclerawmaterialassessment,energyuseandGHGemissionsforelectricvehicles11A.ImpactofEVdevelopmentonrawmaterials11B.GHGemissionanalysis12C.CaseStudy:On-roadelectricvehiclesinChina-GHGemissionreductionpotential14D.Primaryenergyfuelextractionandtransport17E.Transmissionanddistributionlosses,chargingefficiencyandbatteryefficiency18V.Conclusionsandrecommendations:Enhancingthesustainabilityofelectricelectricvehicles22A.RegionalizethedevelopmentandpromotionofEVinChina23B.Optimizegridandrenewableenergiesfortransportationuses23C.Promotelow-carbonversionofelectrificationtechnologies,especiallyplug-inhybridelectrictechnologies24D.Expandfueleconomystandardstoincludeelectricvehicles24Annex126CaseStudy:BeijingCity–EVinatraffic-constrainedmegacity26Annex227CaseStudy:ShenzhenCity–policyandindustrialtrailblazerforEVinChina27CSD19/2011/BP91ElectricVehiclesintheContextofSustainableDevelopmentinChinaRobertEarley,LipingKang,FengAnandLuciaGreen-WeiskelTheInnovationCenterforEnergyandTransportation(iCET)I.INTRODUCTION1.Chinaisfacinggrowingchallengesduetotheexpansionofenergydemand.Thecountrydependsonimportsforover55percentoftotaloilconsumption.1Since2009,China’scoalimportsaregreaterthancoalexports.Asaresult,theChinesegovernmentisfacedwiththeneedtodevelopalternativeenergysystems.Chinaalsoseekstoreducegreenhousegas(GHG)emissionsineverysectoroftheeconomy.2.Transportationhasbeenaparticularlychallengingsector.AsChinaurbanizes,personalmobilitybecomesacentralissueinthemindsofcityplanners.Peopledesiretoliveandworkindifferentneighborhoodsandatthesametimeincreasethediversityintheirsociallives.Personalvehiclesreflectimportantculturalvaluesofsuccessandstatus,makingthemextremelyappealingfromaconsumerperspective.Atthesametime,theautomotiveindustryemploysmillionsofpeople,makingitanessentialtargetforgovernmentsupport.3.Vehiclesusevastamountsofenergy.InChina,over98percentofon-roadvehiclesarepoweredbyfossilfuelssuchasoilandgas.Whilealternativefuelssuchasethanol,methanol,andnaturalgasproductsarebeingproducedandresearched,gettingthesefuelsintouseisdifficult.Eachrequiresitsownuniquedistributionandhandlingsystemandoftenrequiresexpensivemodificationstovehicles.Inaddition,thereislittlecentralpolicysupportforthesetechnologiesatthistime,leadingtoanuncertainfutureforthesealternativefuels.4.Chinahasseenanopportunityinthedevelopmentofelectricvehicles(EV)tomaketechnologicaladvancesthatwillbringChina’sautomotiveindustryintothe21stcentury,andatthesametimemakemoreefficientuseofenergyinthetransportsector.Electricvehiclesavoidtheuseofpetroleum,aresourcethatChinaviewsaspotentiallylimitingtoitsfuturedevelopment.Chinaismoreconfidentinthesupplyandaccessofincreasinglyefficientcoal-firedelectricity,andelectricityfromrenewableenergies,which,accordingtoplan,promisestocontinuouslydecreasethecarbonemissionsassociatedwiththeproductionofelectricityinChina.Disclaimer:TheviewsexpressedinthebackgroundpaperarethoseoftheauthorsanddonotnecessarilyreflectthoseoftheUnitedNations.Backgroundpapersareissuedwithoutformalediting.1Availablefrom’sautomotiveelectric-drivetechnologydevelopmentandelectricmobilitypromotionpoliciesandprogrammes.Thepaperanalysesrecenttrendsandprojectionsintechnologydevelopmentandelectricityuseinprivateandpublicmotorvehicles.Itreviewsrelevantinformationtoassesscomparativeefficiencyofenergyuseandemissionsbydifferentmodesofpublicandprivatetransportation,analysesaccessiblecompany,productandcasestudyinformation,andformulatespossiblepolicyrecommendationsforthefurtherenhancementofsustainabilityintheelectricvehicleindustryinChina,takingintoaccounteconomic,socialandenvironmentalconsiderations.II.CHINA’SELECTRICAUTOMOTIVETECHNOLOGYDEVELOPMENT7.Chinaisassertivelycommittedtodevelopingelectricvehiclesasakeyformoftransportationforthefuture.TheGovernmenthascreatedadetailedroadmapforthedevelopmentofEVtechnology,providinganenablingpolicyenvironmenttofosterdevelopment.TheGovernmentofferssubsidiestoconsumerswhopurchaseelectricvehicles.8.Figure