Sustainability comparison of petrol and electric small boats on Lake Balaton: A life cycle and total cost analysis
Abstract
Because Lake Balaton is shallow and ecologically fragile, the regulation of small-boat traffic on the lake currently rests mainly on propulsion type: recreational use of internal-combustion-powered small boats is effectively prohibited. In contrast, purely electric-powered boats may operate freely. This study examines the environmental and economic differences between petrol and electric-powered small boats over their full life cycle, and considers what these differences imply for further developing the regulatory framework. The analysis draws on data from one specific petrol-powered and one electric small-boat model. The life cycle assessment (LCA) compares CO2 emissions across the manufacturing, operational, and end-of-life (EoL) phases over 15-year and 20-year horizons, while the total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis compares investment, operating, mooring, and maintenance costs over the same horizons. Results: manufacturing emissions for the electric boat are nearly five times those of the petrol boat, but this disadvantage is offset by lower operating emissions within roughly 5.7 years; over 15 years, the electric boat’s total emissions are about half those of the petrol boat. The economic picture runs in the opposite direction: owing to its higher purchase price and the cost of battery replacement, the electric boat’s total cost exceeds the petrol boat’s over both examined time horizons. Since environmental and economic considerations do not align, sustainable boating cannot be reduced to a single criterion and instead calls for deliberate, multi-criteria evaluation. Regulation would benefit from accounting not only for propulsion type but also for the actual environmental burden a boat generates (speed, power, intensity of use).
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