Electric Cars: Are They Really Greener? | The Eco Experts

Environmental impact of electric vehicles

The good news is, since electric cars have no tailpipe, EV owners don’t release any CO2 emissions whilst driving. This means the more electric vehicles we have on the road, the better quality our air will be. 

Electric cars are also much quieter than conventional vehicles, which can help reduce noise pollution – especially in cities. 

It might be looking pretty positive for electric cars that are on the road, but what about off the road? Well, that’s a different story… 

Production

The main environmental impact of electric cars occurs before an electric car has even left the factory floor. 

The CO2 emissions generated from electric car production are 59% higher than the level in the production of traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. The key reason behind this is largely down to the battery manufacturing process.

The level of emissions also comes down to where the electric car is being made. Most car batteries are made in China, South Korea, and Japan, where the use of carbon in electricity production is relatively high. 

An EEA report found that in China, 35-50% of total EV manufacturing emissions arise from electricity consumption for battery production – up to three times higher than in the United States. If electricity was generated by wind power alone, however, China would see a 50% drop in emissions from the production phase.

Materials for the battery

Electric cars run off lithium batteries, which are made up of base metals such as copper, aluminium, and iron – all of which require energy-intensive extraction. This carbon-heavy process is the reason some argue that electric cars aren’t as green as they seem. 

In Germany, the Institute for Economic Research has even suggested that electric vehicles will barely help cut CO2 emissions in the country over the coming years. According to the Institute, “the CO2 emissions of battery-electric vehicles are, in the best case, slightly higher than those of a diesel engine.”

Other recent studies of electric cars in Germany, however, have reached the opposite conclusion. One study found that emissions are up to 43% lower in EVs than diesel vehicles. 

What’s more, there is currently no standardised process for recycling batteries, which means there is an ever-growing pile of electronic waste building up in landfills. 

Type of energy the car consumes

Governments across the globe are pushing for cleaner energy in order to meet climate targets set by the Paris Agreement. This is great news for EV owners, and means electric cars have the potential to be 100% green once they’ve left the factory. 

As it stands, most electric vehicles will still be generating emissions by consuming electricity from the UK grid.

That said, with the growing rate of renewable energy in the UK grid mix, it’s possible that electric cars will run off 100% renewable energy in the near future (and may even give energy back, with vehicle-to-grid chargers.)

In the UK, emissions from electricity generation have fallen by 8% in the past three years alone, and are expected to fall by more than 70% by the mid-to-late 2020s. We’ve outlined the difference in electricity generation in the UK since 1990: