Over the last few years, we have seen huge pressure from
governments and society to change from traditional combustion vehicles to fully
electric ones or at least hybrid for ecological reasons. In this article, I would
like to present less obvious information about the production of electric cars
and a comparison of the ecological aspects of traditional combustion cars to
fully electric cars.
The first point is the process of manufacturing the car. The
first car is the one with an internal combustion engine. The "cost"
of producing a car with an internal combustion engine is about 10 tons of CO2
emitted into the atmosphere. It is a very high value of this gas, but
unfortunately it is much lower than in the case of electric cars. This is
primarily related to the batteries necessary in electric cars, additional cost
in the case of a small electric car is about 5/10 tons of CO2, while in the
case of large electric cars such as e.g. Tesla Model S is up to 20 tons of CO2 with
the largest version of the battery. This value is three times higher than in
the case of an average car with an internal combustion engine.
Another issue is CO2 emissions during the operation of the
car. For example, an Opel Corsa with a 130 HP internal combustion engine emits
about 136g of CO2 per 1km, while an electric car of the same manufacturer with
similar power officially emits 0 CO2. Unfortunately, we have to take into
account how electricity is produced in a given country, so for example in Poland
it is mainly coal power plants which also emits CO2 where, calculated (in the
source) it gives us about 110 g per 1 km. The situation is much better in the
case of countries where energy is based on renewable energy sources. Another
aspect of ecology in the production of these electric cars is the fact that
electric batteries are made of a large amount of minerals such as cadmium,
lithium and nickel. These raw materials are very harmful to the environment,
they are also difficult to dispose of because their reuse or regeneration is
not profitable.
A big problem that is not discussed yet is the question of
the durability of these batteries. Manufacturers guarantee a battery life of up
to about 160,000 km or 8 years. In the event that this time or mileage limit
ends, the replacement is unprofitable due to the price of the battery, which is
often not much less than the value of the entire car. In addition, in the event
of a collision in which the battery has been damaged, the car cannot be
repaired and is completely scrapped or the entire battery has been replaced
(remember about CO2 emissions in the production of batteries). Norway is a good
example, where 54% of new cars are fully electric. It turns out that even with
the smallest bumps, cars are scrapped due to the unprofitable repair or the
inability to repair it. As a result, scrap yards in Norway are flooded with new
cars.
The last thing I want to discuss here is the air condition
in Poland and what percentage of this phenomenon is caused by cars. Every year
in Poland smog kills many people, but what percentage of air pollution is
caused by cars. According to the NIK report from 2018, pollution in Poland
caused by cars is only 6%. It turns out that the greatest percentage of the
tragic air quality is caused by households which cause 82% to 92% of smog (poor
quality of fuel burned in stoves and outdated technology of stoves). They go
back to pollution caused by cars. From these 6%, we can distinguish three main
sources of pollution, of which as much as 80% is secondary dust, i.e. road dust
that is carried by all cars, including electric ones, while 13% is abrasion of
tires and brakes. . Only 7% of air pollutants caused by cars are exhaust fumes.
This means that car exhaust fumes are responsible for only 0.5% of air
pollution in Poland.
Questions:
1.
Did you know that electric cars are not so
green?
2.
Do you prefer electric cars or internal
combustion car?
3.
What fuel can be better for cars if not electricity?
Sources:
https://www.nik.gov.pl/plik/id,7764,vp,9732.pdf
https://youmatter.world/en/are-electric-cars-eco-friendly-and-zero-emission-vehicles-26440/
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/climate/electric-vehicles-environment.html
https://e.autokult.pl/35416,blisko-100-tys-zl-za-akumulatory-w-autach-elektrycznych-wysoka-cena-ratowania-swiata
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYkQDLJMSu8&ab_channel=Ca%C5%82aPrawda
I had no idea that the truth about electric cars is so painful and frankly speaking, it's very different from my perception until now. I could only guess that the issue of producing an electric car is more complicated (and therefore more harmful) than the process of producing an internal combustion car. Nevertheless, from the data presented in the article, it turns out that the average CO2 emission is slightly lower than that of a regular car, and that's something. However, taking into account the enormous costs of maintaining such a car or repairing it, it's probably not worth the trouble (as of now).
ReplyDeleteI like the concept of electric cars, that they're generally much quieter and more comfortable to drive. On the other hand, it would be hard for me to give up the pleasure of using a manual gearbox, but as they say, the moment you sit behind the wheel of a car with an automatic gearbox, you'll never want to go back to the manual gearbox again (hasn't happened to me yet).
I have absolutely no knowledge of motorization, let alone fuel type, so it would be hard for me to say what could be better. I've never heard of any motor fuel other than gasoline, diesel, biofuels, or gas, so further I can only speculate.
To be honest I knew about it and electric cars are not so green especially in Poland where electricity is mainly coming from ‘not green’ resources. I think that electric cars need to give some time for the world to adjust to them and prepare more green electricity. As I’m a petrolhead I prefer cars powered by fuel because I love the sound of beautiful V8 engines but on the other hand, I’m also a fan of all new technologies and gadgets so an electric car seems interesting to me and maybe in the future I’ll own one to satisfy my curiosity. I think that as for now, the best alternative for fuel and electric cars is LPG because it’s relatively cheap, reliable and eco.
ReplyDeleteI knew that for a while, I've also heard that i think in Norway (not sure 100% about the country), they have a big problem with electric cars because they are taking a lot of space on junkyard since they can't be demolished that easily when they are broke because of the battery they have.
ReplyDeleteI have to be honest i prefer internal combustion cars much more, even if the Teslas got my attention that is not a car I would pick. If a car does not go "wroom wroom" it's not for me. I am a car person with love for oldschool JDM cars, even tho i drive a beautiful red british car MG ZT with 2.5 v6 engine but it gives me a lot of joy while driving, it makes a lot of noise and get everyone attention, and I can't say things like that about electric cars. So if I had money to spend on a cool car like electric Tesla I would rather spend it on old Toyota Supra. :D
I do not have any knowledge about which fuel can be better, but maybe something with solar energy will work as it is called eco also, but I'm not sure it would work on cloudy days. :D
I have to agree with you, internal combustion engines are much more interesting. Even bypassing the topic of ecology. Internal combustion engines have so much history and emotions. There is one electric motor. It can have a different range and power, unlike the combustion engine, where each of them has its own character.
DeleteFor me it was obvious that electronic cars are not that green, especially in Poland. As you mentioned production of such cars is not more green than production of old style cars. What was not mentioned in your article but is important as well is disposal of batteries which is not easiest and cheapest things to do. Combustion cars is something that i prefer, anyway to become more green i fully stopped to use car in town, i prefer bike :) I use care only while im in travel. It a very tough question to answer until you re engineer :D I cannot wait until we will have cars driven by water or solar energy, but still its hard to predict if such cars would be more green than usual ones.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of hydrogen-powered cars where the end product is water is already being tested and I am very curious if it will be a real competition for electric cars so common today.
DeleteI knew that electric cars aren't as that eco-friendly as marketing teams shows us in commercials but I didn't knew (until I have read your article) the size of misinformation:) I think that most important thing about charging electric car is the source of that energy. The most effective way to acquire electric energy is probably have solar systems to produce that energy at home just from sunlight, but sadly in Poland we don't have good climate for that kind of system mainly because of not enough fully sunny days. Second thing at least in Poland is that as You mentioned in your article, is that our energy sector is driven mainly by coal power plants so...
ReplyDeleteAs for second question I think that best solution is in the middle - hybrid engines, because you can charge your batteries while driving at long distances and you can use that energy for "city cruising" witch equals to lesser petrol usage.
What fuel can be better for cars if not electricity? Thats a good question. Probably hydrogen cells but again it will depend on the production cost of these cells and if it will gain big popularity to force motor and oil companies to invest for necessary infrastructure to use it on daily basis.
Did you know that electric cars are not so green?
ReplyDeleteI knew that electric cars are not as green as they seem to be. However, I didn’t realize that there is such a slight difference between electric car and the one with an internal combustion engine as in the example in the article. I think the main problem is that many people don’t pay attention to what needs to be done to make an electric car drive (e.g. to produce energy), but only to the fact that it does not emit CO2 while driving.
Do you prefer electric cars or internal combustion car?
Despite the examples cited in the article, if I had to change the car at the moment, I would choose an electric car or at least a hybrid. Currently, I mainly drive on the congested streets of Warsaw, which makes the car burn more fuel than usual.
What fuel can be better for cars if not electricity?
I’m not very interested in motorization, but I've heard that hydrogen is a good idea to power a car. The principle of operation of hydrogen cars is simple. In fact, the wheels are powered by an electric motor that takes energy from the operation of a hydrogen cell. No combustion, no pollution.
This article is really interesting and I read about it a lot maybe a year ago or more. I can't agree with some of your points. For example with the part about adding to calculations CO2 produced by coal power plants. Obviously, electricity gained that way is not really eco but we should take into calculations CO2 emitted while producing fuel for classic cars. Only then the comparison would be fair in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI would be really happy to try electric cars but not now and not in Poland. We lack fast-charging stations, currently used batteries don't provide a satisfying range in kilometers, and I'm pretty confused about using it in winter.
After some research, I found that LPG is not so bad and a hydrogen is a great option for the future but I'm not sure. We will see in few years.
You rightly noticed that I did not pay attention to the cost of producing fuel. I am very curious what the final calculation of CO2 emissions looks like. Do you have any data on the amount of CO2 in fuel production?
DeleteI've read some articles and watched videos about electric cars, so I am aware that this whole green propaganda is not that perfect. For me, it is very unfair that the biggest comapnies do not talk about consequences of producing batteries,servicelife or service costs. They olny show us the fact that electric cars do not burn the fuel.
ReplyDeleteOf course I am a fan of internal combustion engine. Personally, ICEs are far more efficient, I doubt that electric cars will drive over 20 years or at least do the mileage classic motors do.
Actually, I do not follow the newest technologies, so I will put some technologies aside (such as a hydrogen engine, LPG motors), but I think that developing internal combustion engines with direct fuel injection is the best way to look for. Taking into consideration all of pros and cons of ICEs and electric cars I would choose the first one.
It is an interesting piece of information. I was not aware, that electric cars are not the perfect concept. I would not say that I have a specific preference when it comes to fuel, but I could consider having my vehicle use an alternative source of energy. Unfortunately it seems like it is a little too expensive for me right now. Also I find there are some issues coming with owning a car like that, like accessibility of docking stations for example. Also I have heard that performance of those vehicles is a little disappointing, but I was never able to confirm that in person. When it comes to the last question, I do not know a lot about alternative fuels however I guess maybe solar power would be an interesting idea to consider.
ReplyDeleteYes, I’ have heard before that electric cars are not so green due to the process of producing the batteries. I have little experience driving an electric car and I am simply used to driving internal combustion cars. I suppose, these are the main reasons I prefer internal combustion cars.
ReplyDeleteI have no great ideas, but in my opinion, we should try to develop the electric cars first, then look for some other suggestions and concepts for fuel.
1. I just didn't quite know that electric cars aren't that eco-friendly, although I thought that the factories produce more energy. The more energy is released into the atmosphere, thus destroying our earth's shell more and more. As far as I know, it takes even more work to produce electric cars and it costs our planet more energy.
ReplyDelete2. It's hard to answer this question, because I've never had the pleasure of traveling in an electric car, even in hybrid. I'm only familiar with internal combustion cars and can't say anything about that, maybe someday when the opportunity comes to check electric car.
3. In my opinion hydrogen cars may be the future because hydrogen combined with oxygen can make a good fuel. Who knows? Maybe the future belongs to us? :) We will see. I hope you hear about it.
I'm interested in this topic and I think that the author's point of view is not entirely correct. If you want sort out in this problem, then you should dig much deeper and look at the goals of a long-term perspective. To begin with, it is worth understanding that the problem of cars with internal combustion engines is not in the combustion of fuel and not even in the cars themselves .. the problem is in the fuel itself, more precisely in its production, or more precisely, in the source of its production. It's about oil. And not only in oil as such, but in the process of its production and, most importantly, in the consequences! According to various reserves data with current consumption growth rates, natural oil reserves on earth (which can be extracted) will run out in 50 years, 50 Karl!! And the point here is not the oil itself, damn it, as our planet, nature and fauna, absolutely nothing to do with oil. The problem, as a minimum, is in the possible consequences of the struggle for oil, large oil-producing companies can easily sacrifice entire countries for the sake of it, remember what America did a couple of decades ago (Near East region). And this is only about the direct conflict and as example what about the production and exploitation of oil fields such as Oil sands?? And what about the aftermath of the Deepwater accident? And all this is just one aspect of the global situation on the planet. So electric cars are just one cog of the whole mechanism, one small stage of a global concept, this is not even the visible top of the iceberg, it is just its tip!
ReplyDeleteAnd if look so narrowly, then yes, in terms of the harm of CO2 emissions from cars, this is a trifle, ex. ships pollute the atmosphere much more, but their fuel is slightly different;)
And, also, regarding the generation of energy, there is such a thing as green energy, which is popularized in parallel with electric cars, as well as nuclear energy, which, ATTENTION SHOCK CONTENT, is the safest among all other energy sources. It's safer than wind turbines and solar panels. (According to a study by one of the largest medical journals, the Lancet)
PS here is an interesting point, the theory of electric car is not new, and theoretically could begin its development in the first half of the last century! Guess who came up with (N.T.) and why no one was interested in it (cos 'O' + $$$)
I also advise to watch
https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_shellenberger_how_fear_of_nuclear_power_is_hurting_the_environment?language=en