Is the Electric car really environmentally friendly?
The future of mobility is emerging with the electric car. This one is a real step forward in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
If you take a vehicle life cycle of 150 000km, an electric car will emit 9 tonnes of CO2 against 22 tonnes for a diesel vehicle and 27 tonnes for a gasoline car. What better to breathe our planet and our future generations!
This important positive point should not make us forget that the electric car is not a miracle solution, 100% ecological.
As for any vehicle, the impact of its construction is to take into account as much as that of its life cycle.
A first concern point about ecology is the battery of the vehicles.
Whether for the extraction of the metals component or for their recycling at the end of their life, the impact on the CO2 emissions is greater than for a fossil fuel vehicle.
A second concern is the production of electricity.
If in France, most of electricity is of nuclear origin (and if we ignore the waste), we arrive at less CO2 emission. But in countries where electricity still comes largely from coal-fired power plants, like China or Germany, this is however not the case in all situations.
Take the example of Germany, where half of the electricity comes half of the coal. An electric vehicle will start to be slightly more ecological (including its construction and life cycle) only from 150 000km.
Third point that can be impacting for ecology is the issue of increasing nuclear waste, for those who will have chosen this energy.
Is it necessary to make a definitive cross on electric car?
No, electricity could be increasingly produced by renewable energies.
For batteries, lithium could be replaced by sodium, which is a more abundant mineral and has a lower environmental impact.
Would you like to know more about our market research approach about the Electric car? Contact us.
We will be happy to exchange with you and advise you for your project of Automotive & Mobility survey.
Sources:
– Les voitures électriques sont-elles aussi polluantes que celles à essence ?
– European Climate Foundation : le véhicule électrique dans la transition écologique en France
– Before the Electric Car Takes Over, Someone Needs to Reinvent the Battery
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