Electric Vehicles Environmental Impact

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Dublin's daily rush hour.

Copyright Environmental Protection Agency

Traffic in Dublin
Copyright Environmental Protection Agency

Traffic in Dublin

Dublin's daily rush hour.

Copyright Environmental Protection Agency

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Examining the environmental impacts of any product requires looking at its entire lifecycle: from raw materials extraction, to pollution generated during its manufacture, operation and disposal, through to the impacts of the residual waste remaining after disposal or recycling. For an electric vehicle, the source of the electricity used during its operation plays a large role in the overall environmental impacts.

Production

Production of electric vehicles is typically more energy-intensive than conventional vehicle manufacture. It takes approximately 70% more primary energy to produce electric vehicles than conventional vehicles (EEA, 2016), mainly for the electric engine systems and batteries. These higher energy requirements can result in higher emissions of GHGs and associated air pollutants, depending on the energy source used.

Their manufacture also requires several rare raw materials, especially for the magnets used in the electric motor and in the batteries. Many of these metals are deemed 'critical': they are necessary if electric vehicle production is to increase, but it is uncertain if they will be available in sufficient quantities for future market demands. Furthermore, many of these rare raw materials are either not produced within Europe or are not available in large quantities, so European vehicle manufactures have to rely on obtaining them from other parts of the world.

The lithium in lithium-ion electric car batteries is not itself considered a critical metal. However, its price has already risen in recent years as demand for battery manufacture has increased. Batteries can also include a number of other, relatively rare, elements including cobalt, lanthanum and nickel. In particular, the production processes for cobalt and nickel present potential environmental and health hazards.

In-use

Battery electric vehicles, unlike conventional and electric hybrid vehicles, have no exhaust emissions. The source of the electricity responsible for charging electric batteries — nuclear power plants, fossil fuels or renewables — plays a key role in determining the overall emissions of an electric vehicle throughout its lifecycle.

During their lifetime, battery electric vehicles are only as clean as their source of electricity.
Any future significant growth in electric vehicles numbers will increase demand for electricity, and will require both adequate electricity generation capacity in addition to the capability of electricity grids to handle the additional amounts of electricity generated. In this case, emissions from the road transport sector are in effect transferred to the power generation sector. As the emissions that occur from electricity generation depend on the overall fuel mix used in that sector (within a country or region), the fuel mix varies throughout the day. Electric vehicles may therefore be charged using a variety of fuel sources, including renewable and non-renewable energy depending on this fuel mix.

The increase in electric cars does contribute to a reduction in GHGs (CO₂) and local air pollutant emissions (N₂O, SO₂ and Particulate Matter) in the transport sector. European research shows that emissions of both GHGs and air pollutants are typically lower than conventional vehicles, producing a clear net overall environmental benefit.

End-of-Life

End-of-life vehicles produce millions of tonnes of waste each year in the EU. Existing EU legislation, including the EU Directive on end-of-life vehicles, already aims to minimise waste and promote recycling of scrap vehicles. The large batteries and additional electrical parts available for recycling, including the electric motor and its magnets, distinguish electric vehicles from conventional vehicles.

Recycling rates depend on materials used in production. Some materials can be recycled easily (pure alloy metals), whilst others are harder to reclaim or their ability to be reused is unknown. High recycling rates of lithium-ion batteries are technically possible. However, there is no large scale recovery currently in place. Lithiumion batteries also contain fewer hazardous materials, such as cadmium or lead, than other types of batteries, and therefore are generally considered safe for incinerators and landfill.

Overall

Reduced emissions during an electric vehicle's lifetime are deemed to outweigh the environmental impacts of the production and end-of-life stages. Electric vehicles can therefore significantly reduce the negative environmental effects of conventional passenger vehicles, assuming the electricity is from renewable sources (EEA, 2018).