Environmental Impact of Off-grid Solar Charging Stations for Urban Micromobility Services

In face of challenges such as rising greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, noise, traffic jams and space demand conflicts micromobility is controversially discussed as a new mobility alternative for cities. The rapid growth of the mobility sharing market raises questions about its environmental sustainability in many cities worldwide. Especially the operating and energy supply system of e-scooter sharing services was identified as main environmental impact in previous studies. This paper shows potentials of smart charging solutions for micromobility services. Based on a case study, a conceptual design of an off-grid solar charging station is proposed and evaluated using Life Cycle Assessment. The results of our case study show that the Global Warming Potential per kilowatt-hour of energy supply for sharing services can be reduced by 73- 88% compared to battery swapping with diesel vans, if solar charging stations are used. However, the paper highlights the utilization rate of the solar charging station and the solar irradiation in the place of use significantly influence the environmental impact.