Module 02
EV Benefit Calculator
Should you buy an EV? Let's actually look at the numbers.
EVs cost more to manufacture than gas cars — the battery is responsible for most of that gap, and we don't hide it. But lower running emissions and a fraction of the fuel cost mean that debt gets paid back. How quickly depends on where you live, how much you drive, and how clean your grid is.
Solar charging is treated as 0 gCO₂e/kWh and $0/kWh — reduces both operational emissions and fuel cost proportionally.
Behind the numbers
What this tool is actually measuring — and why it matters
Yes, EVs start with a carbon debt. Here's why.
Building a battery is energy-intensive work. Mining lithium, cobalt, and nickel; refining them; assembling cells; shipping everything from Korea or Georgia — it all adds up. The Ioniq 5's 77.4 kWh NMC pack alone is responsible for roughly 6,500 kg CO₂e before the car turns a wheel. Add the rest of the vehicle, and you're looking at about 14,500 kg CO₂e total, versus ~8,500 kg for a gas RAV4. The interesting question isn't whether EVs have a manufacturing penalty — it's how long it takes to pay it off.
Why Quebec and Alberta get very different answers
An EV's driving emissions are entirely a function of the electricity it consumes. In Quebec (grid ~28 gCO₂e/kWh), an Ioniq 5 emits roughly 5 g CO₂e/km — bicycle territory. In Alberta (~385 gCO₂e/kWh on a typical day), the same car emits around 68 g/km. Both are still below a gas RAV4's ~243 g/km, but the EV's advantage is a lot thinner on a gas-heavy grid. This tool fetches live data, so you're looking at today's grid mix.
LFP vs NMC — not all batteries are created equal
The Ioniq 5 uses NMC811 chemistry — energy-dense but expensive to produce in CO₂ terms because cobalt and nickel are resource-intensive. GREET 2023 puts NMC811 at roughly 84 kg CO₂e per kWh. The Mach-E Standard Range uses LFP cells from CATL — no cobalt, no nickel. GREET puts LFP at roughly 52 kg CO₂e/kWh. On a 72 kWh pack that's about 2,760 kg CO₂e less — enough to shorten the emissions breakeven by years in Alberta.
The hybrid sits in an interesting middle ground
Hybrids cost only slightly more to manufacture than a pure ICE vehicle — the small NiMH battery adds maybe 700 kg CO₂e vs. the Ioniq 5's 6,000 kg premium. But their fuel economy, while impressive, still involves burning petrol. On a very dirty grid, the RAV4 Hybrid can be the lowest-emissions option. When the EV's per-km emissions get close to the hybrid's, the manufacturing debt may never fully pay off within the vehicle's lifetime. We show that rather than paper over it.
What we're not capturing — and why you should still care
Manufacturing emissions here are GREET 2023 averages. The actual number depends on which factory built the car and what energy mix that grid runs on. We also haven't modelled battery degradation, end-of-life recycling credits, upstream methane from gas extraction, or the difference between average and marginal grid emissions. For a well-grounded real-world estimate, this tool is the right level of detail. For a definitive answer specific to your situation, you'd want a full lifecycle assessment.
Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Lifecycle analysis is genuinely tricky, battery manufacturing data improves every year, and new model specs come out constantly. If you think a number is off, a key variable is missing, or a comparison vehicle would serve this better — we want to hear it.
Send feedback →Where the numbers come from
- CAA 2023 Driving Costs — maintenance estimates by vehicle type
- Consumer Reports Annual Auto Surveys — EV vs ICE reliability & service costs
- GREET 2023 — Argonne National Lab, vehicle cycle emissions & battery manufacturing
- GREET 2023 — NMC811: ~84 kg CO₂e/kWh · LFP: ~52 kg CO₂e/kWh
- EPA fuel economy ratings — Ioniq 5 AWD LR, Mach-E SR RWD LFP, RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid
- Natural Resources Canada — fuel consumption guide & CO₂ factors
- Electricity Maps — live grid carbon intensity by location
- OpenWeatherMap — city location lookup
- IPCC AR5 — lifecycle CO₂e emission factors for gasoline (2.31 kg/L)
- ICCT (2021) — Lifecycle emissions comparison, North America
We're not here to sell you an EV
CWM Energy does clean energy consulting. We think EVs are a meaningful part of decarbonizing transportation. We also think the case for them is strong enough that it doesn't need exaggerating — and that showing inconvenient truths (manufacturing debt, grid dependency, longer breakevens in Alberta) builds more trust than hiding them. Every number is derived from a published source or manufacturer data.
A few things worth noting
- Averages, not actuals: Manufacturing emissions are industry-average figures from lifecycle models. Your specific vehicle, built in a specific factory on a specific day, will vary.
- Live data is a snapshot: Grid carbon intensity changes hour by hour. Annual averages tell a more complete story.
- Not financial advice: Buying a car involves financing, resale value, insurance, and a dozen other things this tool doesn't model.