How is EV greener in the long term than combustible engine vehicles?

Question

Don’t get me wrong. I know the vehicle itself will have way lower emissions and than a regular gas or diesel vehicle, but what I’m confused on is that they will have to mine to get the raw materials to make these batteries and then once the battery is done it’s lifespan they will need to find a way to dispose or recycle these batteries. Imagine doing that capacity when the whole world has transitioned to EV.

In: 374

Answer 1

There are other considerations. Cars mostly only so short journeys. The median journey length is about six miles and twenty minutes. Vehicles with internal combustion engines produce emissions as they go, and the emissions control system only works efficiently when warm. This means that fuel is used to speed up this warming and for a significant proportion of most journeys, the emissions control system is only partly effective. There are also transients as the car accelerates which have to be managed. The emissions are also generated when the car its being used. If you look at NOx pollution concentration data , you see that it is concentrated along major urban roads, where people live and work. For an electric vehicle, the energy is generated by a power station which is always operated in an efficient, steady-state condition and the emissions control system can be the size of a warehouse as it doesn’t have to go anywhere. Also electric vehicles are no longer emitting noxious gases, so the localised gaseous pollution is no longer a problem.

There is the consideration of particulates. Particulate emissions control is now so good that vehicles produce more particulates from their brakes and tyres than they do from their exhausts. Electric cars are generally heavier than cars with internal combustion engines, so this will cause more tyre wear. There is more scope to use regenerative breaking with electric vehicles, so rather than using the brakes alone to slow the vehicles, the vehicles’ kinetic energy can be used to generate electricity which is returned to the battery. This significantly reduces brake wear.