Electric vehicles (EV) are all anger, with almost every major manufacturer carrying EV to the market. In fact, some manufacturers, such as Subaru (through Reuters), Volvo (via Nasdaq), and others have committed to lineup only at 2030 or mid-2030s.
When governments around the world are looking for ways to combat climate change, EVS has emerged as a clear method. In fact, in August 2021, US President Joe Biden signed the executive command (through the White House) which made it a goal to migrate to “clean and zero-emissions for federal government fleets, state, local and tribal, including vehicles from American Postal Services United. “
With so many encouragement behind moving the entire car industry to EVs, some wondering whether EV is better for the environment than traditional vehicles.
The short answer is yes. The long answer is still yes, but with several factors that need to be considered.
There is no debate that, during its service period, EV produces less emissions than traditional gasoline vehicles. Unfortunately, there are two additional factors that must be considered: vehicle manufacturing and collecting it.
EVS manufacturing is the process and intensive process of energy. In fact, a study based on MIT energy initiatives shows that traditional vehicle manufacturing produces less emissions than battery / fuel production for EV. As a result, each EV produced began his life with an emissions deficit compared to traditional vehicles. However, during his life, the same EV will produce far less emissions, which allows it to overcome the deficit and get better for the environment than gasoline-powered cars.
At the same time, efforts are made to reduce the cost and environmental impact of producing EV. For example, Nissan is a pioneering technology that will enable it to recycle up to 98% of the rare element in EV electric motors, not 50% of the current method possible.
The second main factor when considering the EV environmental impact is the electricity network that imposes it. Different countries give power to their electricity grids through different ways. The same thing can be said for each state in the US. Some jurisdictions use cleaning energy than others, which means the impact of EV to the environment is largely related to the quality of the electricity network that imposes it.
“If we will see the current situation, in some countries, electric vehicles are better even with the current grid,” Sergey Paltsev, a senior research scientist at MIT’s energy initiative to CNBC.
Needless to say, as a power grid transition to a cleaner energy form, the overall effect will be a reduced carbon footprint for all EV using the electricity network.
Again, it is undeniable that EV is better for the environment than traditional vehicles. At the same time, their actual environmental potential has not been achieved.
