As the “electric car” fever becomes more widespread around the world, many people forget that they are “not innocent” of causing emissions.
In its work, it relies on large “lithium-ion batteries” that require a lot of mining and manufacturing, and extracting the minerals involved in their manufacture, including lithium, cobalt, and nickel, and heating them at high temperatures requires the use of “fossil fuels.”
Can it be considered much cleaner than fuel-powered internal combustion engines?
To manufacture an 80 kWh lithium-ion battery produces between 2.5 and 16 metric tons of carbon dioxide, depending on the energy source used for heating, which increases environmental pollution.
Which means that manufacturing a new electric car could produce approximately 80% more emissions than manufacturing a similar gas-powered car.
According to the researchers, waste from the extraction of copper, nickel, manganese, lithium, and cobalt will total nearly a trillion tons over the next 30 years to meet the needs of the electric vehicle industry, which also increases carbon pollution.
In the post-production stage, the main source of electric vehicle emissions is the energy used to charge their batteries.
Comparing emissions from a gas-powered car, it emits about 68 tons of carbon dioxide over its lifetime, compared to about 15 tons from an electric car, which includes emissions during material extraction and battery manufacturing, as well as emissions from charging the battery and operating the car.
This, of course, favors electric cars, and hopes are rising that it will become more feasible if countries continue to shift away from coal, gas, and fuel to generate electricity.
2024-02-16 20:49:55
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