Electric Vehicles’ Overall Effect on the Environment

Electronic vehicles have been around for more than a century. The drastic technological advances recently have helped the industry grow at an exponential rate. Experts agree that EVs are going to curtail climate change. We have created advancements that lower costs and increase battery life, which has helped sell more EVs. Let’s see how they are environment-friendly when compared to gas-powered vehicles.

Electric Cars – Worldwide Adoption

The climate goals of many countries include switching to EVs. 17 countries have promised to100% zero-emissions vehicles by 2050. China and the US are at the forefront of becoming EV market leaders. As of 2020, China is leading the EV market and has sold over 3 million passenger EVs and accounts for 98% of the world’s EV figure. Though the US is still catching up, the market is promising here as well. Since 2016, electric car sales as increased more than40%.  This is because of the new plan by President Joe Biden to reach carbon neutralization. Steps like boosting tax credits for consumers that are buying a new EV have been boosted.

The UK has announced that they will ban the sales of new diesel and petrol cars after 2030. They have also made an investment of 12 billion pounds to help establish more charging points and boost EV battery production. Hong Kong is also making progress with their city’s 2050 carbon neutrality plan, hoping to drop their carbon footprint 6 million tons.

Norway is leading most of the countries in this EV transition. In 2021, EV cars made up 80% of the new cars sols. Norway plans to be the first to end combustion engine sales by 2025.  By 2030, they predict the EV market to grow by 1,697% in Europe

Electric vehicles are a positive step towards curbing global warming. We will lower emissions by 1/5 if all cars become EVs. An electrified future not only offers cleaner air, it will make the world less dependent on oil spikes caused by conflict. We are trying to innovate all global transportation to EV while using solar as a driving force. This innovation will help cheaper EV manufacturing to offer lower purchasing prices. The need of the day is to understand whether EVs are more environment-friendly when compared to combustion engines.

EV Batteries and the Environmental Footprint

Initially, the production of EVs (batteries) has a greater environmental footprint than combustion engines. Lithium-Ion batteries the main battery used in electric vehicles. These contain cobalt and lithium. This means the demand for these two metals has skyrocketed. Even though it is believed that there is ample product to meet the demands, the question is how the drilling of these materials affects the environment. Lithium mining is very resource-intensive and catastrophic for the environment. It results in loss of biodiversity and leads to destabilization of the ground and contamination and water loss.

Most of the lithium is found in an area spanning Chile, Bolivia and Argentina, the “lithium triangle”. Lithium mining is detrimental to the area and is leading to drainage of the water supply. The biggest lithium reserve near Bolivia is nearing complete ecosystem destruction because of the mining. Extraction of one-tonne lithium needs almost 2 million litres of water. Hence, droughts are increasing. The mining efforts in Chile’s desert have used 65% of the total water there. The process to extract lithium used fossil fuels and will lead to a generating CO2 emissions, For a tonne of lithium mined, you get around 15 tonnes of CO2.  In contrast to produce steel for an internal combustion engine you will only generate 1.9 tonnes of emissions.

The advance in technology is significantly bringing down emissions and costs. An important point to consider is we compensate for the emissions during production throughout the lifetime of an EV.

EV emissions on the Go

Unlike the process of manufacturing, EVs generate fewer emissions over their lifespan. Internal combustion engines make up 10% of the global greenhouse emissions. The extraction process for gasoline does not actually cause the emissions, it comes from the refinement process. This process will create greenhouse gas emissions, methane, and nitrous dioxide. Phasing out of these vehicles will lead to lower demand for oil extraction and in turn emissions.

Though EVs will offer zero tailpipe emissions we need to be aware of where the electricity comes from. We can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions as long as we are pairing EV use with the low-carbon sector. There can still be an impact when used in areas generating energy with coal plants. Luckily, renewable energy is expanding quickly and EV’s will continue to help decrease emissions over their lifetime.

Battery End-of-Life Emissions

Another parameter to consider when evaluating whether EVs are better than combustion engines is battery disposal. A growing industry means more disposed batteries. Right now, only 5% of the total lithium batteries are recycled. The IEA estimates that in 2030, almost the same amount of batteries will be discarded as the number being produced.

EV batteries have materials which can be harmful. Batteries are mostly disposed of in landfills and this can lead to contamination and fires. Components of the batteries like copper, cobalt, chromium and cadmium are hazardous to human health and water resources too.  The world is focusing its attention on the collection and recycling of batteries. In China, it is the responsibility of the manufacturer to be responsible for recycling and disposing of the batteries. The same is the case with the US and the European Union. The US has already created the Lithium-Ion Car Battery Advisory Group to help with our battery recovery polices.

With all these factors we know as we grow and understand EV’s together, there is proof that long-term we will be saving the environment. We just need to be aware of both sides of the coin to make sure we know all the aspects being affected. The goal at Vehya, is to help all areas of EV innovation understand the role we need to play in this growth and change. Let’s work together to stay proactive using our resources to support a healthier planet.