welltowheel

Well-to-wheel (WTW) is a framework used in energy, transportation, and environmental research to assess the total energy use and environmental impacts of fuels and vehicles from resource extraction through to vehicle operation. It provides a holistic view of how much energy is consumed and how many greenhouse gas emissions are generated over the complete life cycle of a fuel in the context of driving.

The analysis is typically divided into two main stages. Well-to-tank (WTT) covers energy inputs and emissions associated with obtaining, processing, refining, and distributing a fuel before it reaches the vehicle. Tank-to-wheel (TTW) covers the energy use and emissions that occur during vehicle operation, including combustion losses and drivetrain efficiency. The combined well-to-wheel figure (WTW) expresses total energy use or emissions per distance traveled or per unit of energy content of the fuel. Vehicle manufacturing is usually assessed separately in cradle-to-grave or cradle-to-wheel studies.

WTW analyses rely on standardized boundaries, functional units, and data sources to enable comparison. Common functional units include per kilometer driven or per megajoule of energy delivered to the vehicle. Emissions are typically reported as greenhouse gas equivalents. Models like GREET (developed by Argonne National Laboratory) and regional life-cycle databases provide datasets and methods for calculating WTW values, but results depend on assumptions about fuel production, electricity mixes, and vehicle efficiency.

Applications include policy analysis, fuel formulation choices, and technology assessment. For example, electricity-based fuels or hydrogen may have different WTW profiles depending on grid cleanliness, while biofuels can vary with feedstock and production methods. Limitations include sensitivity to boundaries, regional energy mixes, and data quality, which can lead to divergent results for similar scenarios.