Are EVs climate friendly?!

To tackle climate change, here are 3 major issues that should be figured out first:

1. Energy production carbon neutral

2. Increase energy efficiency

3. All the energy consumption should be moved to electricity.

In the production of anything, there is no such thing called "zero emissions"; it is always about comparatively low emissions or comparatively environment friendly. EVs are

completely fit in the battle of saving the ecosystem.

Famously, 4 types of EVs are known till now, which are accordingly below,

1) Battery Electric Vehicle (BEVs) or All-Electric Vehicle

• FEATURES:

  • fully electric vehicle.

  • Rechargeable batteries.

  • No gasoline pipe (no tailpipe).

  • Battery pack.

Tesla, Ford, Hyundai, Nissan, Volkswagen, and Kia are all making the BEVs.

Tesla Model 3

2) Hybrid electric vehicle:

• FEATURES:

  • ICE & electric motor.

  • Regenerative braking system to charge EVs.

• Charging system:

  • Batteries are smaller and can't be charged by plugging in.

  • Charged through,

    gasoline engine & regenerative braking.

    
    

Toyota Prius, Ford Escape Hybrid, Kia Niro, and Toyota Grand Vitara.

Toyota Prius

3) Plug-in hybrid EVs:

• FEATURES:

  • Regenerative braking method.

  • Electric motor as well as internal combustion engine.

• Charging system:

  • An external power source such as a charging station and self-charging through regenerative braking.

Ford Escape PHEV, Kia Sportage, BMW 3 Series, and many more.

BMW 3 Series

4) Fuel cell electric vehicles (zero-emission vehicles):

• FEATURES:

  • Unique role in decarbonization of transport.

  • zero emissions except water.

• Working style:

  • Instead of using power from electricity stored in a battery, HFC EVs generate their electricity through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in a fuel tank.

For more details, visit https://e-amrit.niti.gov.in/home

Technologies in EVs:

1) Regenerative braking:

In conventional braking system,

Kinetic energy from the movement of the vehicle is being converted into heat via friction. There occurs energy loss as the heat dissipates into the atmosphere.

In a regenerative braking system, the kinetic energy of the moving wheels is converted into electrical energy to charge the battery and reduce the energy loss.

2) Vehicle-to-grid (V2G)/bi-directional charging functionality:

• The basic idea of it is that to power the EV batteries, it converts AC into DC and vice versa for discharging EVs too.

• Electricity flows between an EV's battery and the power grid.

• ADVANTAGE:

  • Allow EV owners to share electricity with their homes and devices.

V2G information and picture by NISSAN

Countries that use EVs.

China, United States, Germany, Norway, and many more countries are top players in using EVs.

Norway draws most of its energy from hydropower, giving all those EVs a smaller carbon footprint.

Source: https://www.iea.org/

ADVANTAGES OF EVs:

1. Low maintenance (fewer moving parts compared to ICE vehicles)

2. Lower running cost. (cheaper electricity fuel)

• Environmental benefits:

1. Lower tailpipe emission.

2. Reduce greenhouse emissions.

3. Improve air quality.

4. Cut off the usage of petrol & diesel like fuels.

EV emissions:

1. Creation of their large lithium-ion batteries. The lithium-ion battery of 80 kWh, which is found in Tesla Model 3, creates between 2.5 and 16 metric tonnes of CO₂.

   
   

2. Major source of EV emission: The energy used to charge their batteries.

   
   

3. Zero direct emission but produces evaporation emission. By using ICE, PHEVs produce tailpipe emissions.

   
   

4. Well-to-wheel emissions: Fuel production, processing, distribution and use etc.

source: climate.mit.edu and U.S. Department of Energy

Future Vision:

• Advancement in batteries:

  • to increase energy efficiency,

  • longer-range batteries,

  • faster charging times.

    
    

• There is a need to expand charging infrastructure for EVs to become conventional, which is crucial but useful.

• A vital role to play in the environment.

• Recycling EV batteries to save them from ending up in landfills.

The final conclusion:

"Although many fully electric vehicles carry 'zero emission' badges. This claim is not quite true. Battery electric cars may not emit greenhouse gases from their tailpipe. but some emissions are created in the process of building and charging vehicles."

-said by Sergey Paltsev, Deputy Director of the MIT Center for Sustainability Science & Strategy and a senior researcher at the MIT Energy Initiative.

• Electric vehicles are actually much, much better in terms of the impact on the climate in comparison to internal combustion vehicles.

• Comparative advantage is going to grow day by day with the advancement in the tech.