New Study Shows Plug-in Hybrid Flex Fuel Vehicle Has Major Economic, Climate Advantages Over Battery EVs

June 11, 2024

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(Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuels Association today released a study documenting the economic and environmental benefits of the world’s first plug-in electric hybrid flex fuel vehicle (PHEFFV). After rigorous emissions testing, lifecycle greenhouse gas analysis, and nearly 34,000 miles of real-world driving, the study concludes that a PHEFFV offers distinct advantages over fully electric vehicles.

Last year, RFA purchased a 2022 Ford Escape plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and immediately converted it to a flex fuel vehicle capable of operating on gasoline and any blend of denatured ethanol up to 85 percent. After a 15-month study on the vehicle, RFA found some impressive results. When using E85, the PHEFFV delivered:

Reductions in lifecycle GHG emissions that rival, or outperform, the GHG reductions achievable with many battery electric vehicles;
Substantial reductions (when compared to gasoline-powered vehicles) in emissions of harmful tailpipe pollutants like nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM), and carbon monoxide (CO);
Lower cost of ownership and operation (purchase price, fuel cost per mile) than a similar BEV; and
No meaningful loss in fuel economy, with the Escape experiencing just a 1.5 percent reduction in miles-per-gallon compared to the EPA estimated rate using E10.

“While some have suggested a massive and immediate shift to BEVs is the best solution for decarbonizing personal transportation, other solutions—like low-carbon ethanol blends—offer enormous potential to achieve meaningful GHG reductions in both the near term and the long term," the report states. "Combining plug-in technology and flex fuel capability makes this vehicle the most adaptable and flexible in the world. It can be refueled with any fuel at any time, offering optimal convenience and affordability to the consumer. The PHEFFV overcomes many of the barriers to BEV adoption commonly cited by consumers, including limited driving range, high purchase price, reliability, and lack of refueling (recharging) infrastructure.”

The RFA report comes at a time when automakers and consumers are expressing increasing doubts about an all-BEV future and turning back toward plug-in hybrid and gasoline hybrid vehicles as a more practical climate solution.

“With this project, we sought to demonstrate that pairing plug-in hybrid electric technology with ethanol flex fuels offers an invaluable opportunity to reduce transportation-related GHG emissions without sacrificing consumer convenience, affordability, and optionality,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “Our 15-month study of the Escape shows that, rather than pitting electric vehicles and internal combustion engines against each other, policymakers should be embracing market-based approaches that combine the best of both worlds. There are incredible synergies between low-carbon liquid fuels like ethanol and plug-in hybrid technology, yet today’s federal and state vehicle emissions standards actively discourage these sorts of creative solutions that put the consumer in the driver’s seat. Our hope is that policymakers look closely at the lessons learned from this study as they consider future action on tailpipe emissions standards and other regulations. Low-carbon, low-cost ethanol has an important role to play—alongside of electrification and other technology-neutral solutions—in decarbonizing our transportation sector.”

The RFA report also offers several recommendations for automakers, as well as federal and state lawmakers and regulators. READ MORE

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Excerpt from Renewable Fuels Association: Recommendations RFA’s 15-month study of the economic and environmental benefits of a plug-in hybrid electric flex fuel vehicle resulted in a number of important insights and findings. The lessons learned from this study should be used to instruct future policy, regulatory, and research developments. Specifically, RFA offers the following recommendations:

▪ Federal and state agencies should adopt full “well-to-wheels” (WTW) lifecycle analysis to assess the GHG emissions impacts of various fuel and vehicle combinations. Agencies should abandon biased and unscientific approaches that consider only one narrow phase of the fuel and vehicle lifecycle (e.g., looking only at tailpipe emissions).

▪ Federal and state regulatory requirements, incentives, tax credits, and subsidies aimed at decarbonizing light-duty vehicles should be applied equitably and based on full WTW lifecycle emission reductions. For example, incentives and compliance credits under federal tailpipe emissions and fuel economy standards should be determined based on the full WTW lifecycle of fuel and vehicle combinations, including consideration of electricity generation sources and emissions related to battery mineral extraction and refining.

▪ Federal and state regulatory agencies should streamline and simplify regulations regarding the certification of flex fuel conversion kits.

▪ Automakers should refocus on offering ethanol flex fuel compatibility in a broad range of PHEV and gasoline hybrid makes and models. Federal policymakers should consider incentives to stimulate increased FFV production.

▪ Automakers, auto industry research cooperatives, and government laboratories should conduct technical research and analysis on the costs and benefits of marrying plug-in hybrid technology with ethanol flex fuel technology on a broad array of vehicle and engine platforms.

▪ Automakers, auto industry research cooperatives, and government laboratories should conduct additional research to demonstrate and quantify the efficiency and synergies of using high-octane fuels like E30 and E85 flex fuel in optimized engines. READ MORE

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What You Can Do Transportation Fuels Policy tax policy Sustainability retrofit Regulations-State Regulations-Federal podcasts Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) Plug-in Flex Fuel Hybrid particulates NOx (nitrogen oxides) mileage life cycle analysis (LCA) hybrids High Octane Fuel (HOF) fuel prices fuel economy flex-fuel vehicles (FFV) ethanol/bioethanol ethanol hybrid environmental policy electric car/Electric Vehicle (EV) Prices Electric Car/Electric Vehicle (EV) E85 price E85 optimized engines E85 conversion kit E85 E30 optimized E30 defossilization Carbon Monoxide (CO) Carbon Intensity (CI)/Carbon Footprint Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) Auto manufacturer air quality

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