Improving the environmental performance of electric vehicles as the grid decarbonises: Design interventions to reduce embodied emissions and in-use energy losses of switched reluctance motors
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The transport sector is rapidly electrifying, so demand for electric motors is predicted to rise, while emissions associated with vehicle use will decline in-line with grid decarbonisation. This motivates attention towards the embodied emissions of the motors, together with critical raw material and recyclability concerns associated with permanent magnets and copper. This study investigates design interventions to a magnet-free, copper-free, automotive switched reluctance motor (SRM), aiming to improve its environmental performance, while exploring the balance between emissions phases as the grid decarbonises. For the first time, a “Morphological Analysis” approach is used to systematically investigate possible combinations of these motor design interventions. Significant potential savings are identified in both embodied emissions and in-use energy losses, improving environmental performance beyond permanent magnet motors reported in literature. Changes to individual components could reduce embodied emissions by 33%, and in-use losses by 44%. Combining interventions through the morphological method, embodied emissions could be reduced by 80%, and in-use losses by 68%. Total emissions depend on grid carbon. In the UK today, lifetime emissions are minimised by reducing in-use losses. In Sweden, with its largely decarbonised grid, lifetime emissions are minimised by reducing embodied emissions. The crossover point, where embodied emissions become dominant, occurs when grid emissions fall below 42% of the UK’s 2024 level.
Authors: Frederick Follows, Julian M. Allwood
Institution: University of Cambridge
Language: English
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,170
OpenAlex ID: W7151812981