The EURO 7 standard defines a zero-emissions vehicle as a vehicle with zero CO2 emissions from the exhaust. EURO 7 is to come into effect on 1 July 2025. Furthermore, the European Parliament approved the standard on zero emissions, and from 2035 it will not be possible to drive a new passenger vehicle burning gasoline or diesel produced from oil.
In the United States, there is an effort to reach 50% of electric cars sold by 2030. So far, only California has plans for a blanket ban on combustion engines. Canada is seeking a complete ban on the sale of combustion engine vehicles by 2035, including vans and trucks.
Various sources state that electric cars are more advantageous in terms of carbon dioxide emissions after driving several tens of thousands of km, when higher CO2 emissions during battery production are compensated by zero or low emissions in operation. In the winter months, the question arises as to what the CO2 production is from the operation of an electric car with the current energy mix in the Czech Republic. If we were to assume an optimistic winter consumption of 20 kWh/100 km, it comes to 20 kWh/100 km x 550 g CO2/kWh = 110 g CO2/km (source electricitymaps/CZ). In Central Europe, a significant part of electricity is produced from coal. Burning 1 kg of brown coal produces approx. 1 kWh of electricity. If the majority of electricity was produced from brown coal, which is the reality, for example, in Poland, then an electric car would travel for 20 kg of coal per 100 km when charging from the network. At least 45% of the domestic energy mix is made up of fossil sources. Some finite fossil sources cannot be shut down and these must work even if renewable energy sources start up. It can therefore be assumed that the production of electrical energy is covered by fossil sources from approx. 50%. It follows from the above that an electric car when operating in the Czech Republic has a non-negligible carbon footprint compared to vehicles powered by petrol, diesel or gas. Extraction, transportation, refining and distribution of liquid hydrocarbons has its overhead, just like the production and distribution of electricity plus losses during charging (for 20 kWh in the battery, 24 kWh will fall at the stand).
Charging the battery of an electric car from home photovoltaics can improve the CO2 balance described above over the course of the year. However, in the winter, a 10 kWp domestic PV plant produces about 100 kWh per month, which is consumed by the house on which the PV plant is installed. Let’s forget the fact that charging from a domestic PV system is not available to everyone. The delivered (not installed) power of RES in the Czech Republic is in units of percent and that is when energy production from biomass is taken into account. I would like to be wrong, but from the above, it does not look like very low emissions of an electric car in the country, or only locally. We all want cleaner air. However, the significant restrictions on transport due to covid did not have much of an effect on air quality in cities.
Efforts to reduce emissions are undoubtedly God-fearing. Over the past 30 years, enormous progress has been made in this field, not only in transport. It can be roughly stated that the emissions of the biggest pollutants from the operation of vehicles (solid particles, carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides) have decreased to one hundredth of the emissions compared to the state before the introduction of emission standards. Even so, it is not wise to draw on the energy reserves that were formed millions of years ago millions of years in a few centuries with all the negative externalities. So far, however, a universally available method of cleaner energy production and accumulation is not available or not on the necessary scale. The rise in living standards since the beginning of the industrial era has come about thanks to discoveries and available energy from mostly fossil sources. Now there is a step into the unknown, when the old is rejected and the new universally applicable is not quite yet. It’s such a revolution and if history hasn’t shown us that evolution has better results.
The planned restriction of free passenger transport is a pittance compared to the possible future effects of the “measure” on other sectors. When plowing, the tractor consumes 15-30 liters of diesel per hectare. The powerful diesel engine of such a machine operates in an optimal thermal mode with minimal emissions and 40% efficiency. In cold weather, waste heat melts. In hot weather, the running air conditioning will not have an impact on consumption with such a powerful stand. Similar machines in transport, construction, waste management and other sectors work similarly smoothly and almost emission-free, except for CO2. So far, it appears that there are no plans for battery tractors in the next five-year plan. In dark imaginations, one wonders if there will be decline, disruption and famine when, as part of some FitFor, there is a ban on diesel agricultural machines immediately after the herds are depleted and the transition to amarauns from insects. When one sees the exuberant bureaucrat and ideologue Timmermans, one cannot be sure of anything. Perhaps similar plans are not revealed unnecessarily in advance as part of the gradual transformation of opinion and preparation for a new future in the spirit of Lenin’s slogan Truth is everything that serves to protect the climate (the working class in the original wording).
Personal electromobility is naturally gaining ground in practice. Many people use an electric scooter for transportation to work. Quite a few families have an electric car as a second car and use it for shorter trips. Many individuals have bought an electric car out of choice or out of a gut feeling, and that’s totally fine. The problem starts when ideology, regulation, subsidies and manipulation of public opinion are introduced. Most regulations will not solve the regulated problem and will bring a number of unexpected effects. It would be great to let internal combustion engines run on gasoline, diesel or gas continue to compete with electric cars, albeit under strict but comparable conditions. The real impact of the implemented measures on the climate will be immeasurable or negligible. It is a big question how the whole thing with the demonic greenhouse CO2 is doing given the immense complexity of the phenomena on this planet and the number of opposing views among scientists. The increase in the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has a high probability of origin from human activity. However, planet Earth has recorded significantly higher concentrations of CO2 than 415 parts per million in its history, and the greenhouse effect is not as trivial as it is presented to the public.
The electric car is technically simple and advanced, only the battery spoils it. Regeneration during braking is beneficial, but not as highly effective as is generally believed. In addition, a mild-hybrid can also recover, which appears to be a viable alternative given the expected perspective. Everything has probably already been written and said about all kinds of aspects of electromobility and the absence of Temelín for the production of the necessary amount of energy. It is a very interesting post Where are you going electromobility?. I will only mention a few observations from the people. In one office, officials drive up to 12,000 kilometers with a heavy electric car on an atypical, expensive set of tires. The reduction in the price of batteries for electric cars has not yet come with economies of scale or been eliminated by expensive scarce raw materials. New, significantly better battery technology has been within reach for years. In many countries, there are restrictions on vehicle charging due to grid limits and electricity shortages. In many cities, an electric bus burned down and, in the worst case, took the entire depot with it, viz Fire in Stuttgart. At a car dealership, I witnessed a situation where a client was interested in a new vehicle. He was harassed by an electric car. To the question “will I make it to Prague from Ostrava on one charge?” the seller replied: “Of course, I tried it myself and charged once on the way there, then in Prague and then on the way back”. Then the calculations of how far you can go with an electric car are fun. You drive behind a bus without heating and before the destination somewhere in the desert it tells you that you won’t make it. And at the end I heard that we need to introduce it here to offset CO2 in Europe from new coal-fired power plants in China and be a model for the world.
You can’t stop progress. For example, someone actually invents a usable battery, or synthetic fuels take off, or a scenario like in Cuba awaits us.
19.02.2023 mara
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