The economic fallout of the Iran war is no more apparent than at the petrol pump. Prices are up 20 per cent on average, having already cost drivers in the UK an additional £300m, and panic-buying is happening in some areas amid concerns that a fuel shortage is on its way.
So is now the time to buy an electric car? Many are thinking about it with car manufacturers reporting spikes in inquiries for EVs, but we asked the experts. Tesla owner Luana D’Elias Thomas, motor journalist Steve Fowler, and environmental columnist Tom Bawden offer their perspectives.
To listen to some electric car drivers you’d think battery-powered motors could pretty much solve our road pollution problem.
And certainly, when driving along the road, they are far less polluting than traditional fossil fuel cars – replacing a tailpipe noisily spewing carbon dioxide with the gentle purr of an engine cleanly propelled by electricity.
But this is only part of their environmental story. Electric vehicles also carry a surprising number of green costs that if not hidden are certainly far less talked about.
The truth is that electric vehicles are much less environmentally-friendly at the beginning and at end of their lives than petrol and diesel cars, with their manufacture and eventual disposal requiring more raw materials and causing more pollution.
As with the environmental benefits of EVs, its all about the car’s enormous battery, which typically weighs between a quarter and more than half a tonne, and has been referred to by some experts as the Achilles heel of electric cars.
This makes them much heavier than conventional vehicles. A typical family hatchback like a petrol VW Golf, for example, weighs around 1,300kg; a similar-sized EV comes in closer to 1,800kg, with the battery accounting for most of the difference.
The huge battery also means EVs need more energy to manufacture, which is bad for the climate. While the carbon footprint can vary considerably from one electric car model to another, research by The International Council on Clean Transportation concluded that manufacturing a typical EV produced almost twice as many planet-warming CO2 emissions as making the average combustion engine motor – with the battery responsible for most of the extra carbon emissions.
Needless to say, batteries hoover up large amounts of raw materials, from copper, iron and steel to manganese and graphite. A standard 60 kWh lithium-ion battery pack designed for smaller EVs, can use more than 170kg of minerals in total, including 39kg of nickel, 30kg of aluminium (which is at risk of shortages due to the Iran War) and 5kg of lithium – which is also a crucial raw material for mobile phones and laptops.
All of which is putting a huge strain on resources that is only going to grow as electric vehicle production – and consumer goods manufacturing more generally – accelerates around the world.
And in many cases, the mining of these raw materials requires huge amounts of water, produces toxic chemicals, and is carried out in very poor working conditions.
The fact that EVs are much heavier – with SUV versions on the rise for electric cars just as they are for combustion engine models – is also bad news for roads as they increase wear and tear and the risk of potholes – a bugbear for many a British driver.
And the greater weight also means more minuscule rubber particles are produced from the friction when the tyres rub the road. These tiny flakes of plastic eventually accumulate in the soil, in rivers and lakes, and even find their way in our food. They have been linked to respiratory, cardiovascular, and developmental disorders.
Finally, the CO2 emissions generated by dismantling the vehicle and disposing of the materials at the end of its life are considerably higher for EVs (2.4 tonnes versus 1.8 tonnes for petrol cars, according to one study) – once again mostly because of the battery, which accounts for 0.7 tonnes of emissions.
EV batteries are difficult to recycle, meaning that many end up in landfill, from where they release toxic chemicals into the air, soil, and water.
To give EVs their environmental due, they do produce far fewer CO2 emissions over the course of their life than conventional vehicles, even taking into account the battery manufacture.
According to energy supplier EDF, traditional petrol cars emit around 165 grams of CO2 per kilometre and diesel cars produce about 170 grams. By contrast, EVs average just 50 grams of CO2 per kilometre, with those emissions coming from the production of the electricity used to charge the battery (of which about 30 per cent still comes from gas-fired power stations in the UK).
This saving is so significant that even with a significantly higher environmental footprint at the beginning and end, EVs still typically produce 30 to 50 per cent fewer carbon emissions in total, according to an assessment by Science Times.
Carbon emissions are only a part of the environmental story – albeit an important one – and in some other key environmental regards, EVs are significantly worse than petrol and diesel vehicles.
All in all, they are certainly nowhere near the environmental panacea they are presented as by many – especially where the battery is concerned.
Perspectives
square Opinion Is now the time to buy an electric car? Tom BawdenDon’t be too smug about your electric car – there’s a hidden cost
Luana D'Elias ThomasI regret buying a Tesla – it costs me £700 a month and has robbed me of my dignity
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