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whitev70r · 12-30-2019, 08:22 AM

Electric vehicles are supposed to be green, but the truth is a bit murkier

https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/e...rint-1.5394126

Some EV batteries today pack 10 times as much power as an average household uses in a day. And often, those electric vehicles are being charged at home.

Most of the electricity generated by North American grids has some greenhouse gas emissions connected to it. So even if a car isn't belching carbon, it doesn't mean it's perfectly clean.

For instance, coal is about the dirtiest way to generate electricity to recharge a car battery. Powering an EV with electricity generated from coal is marginally better than burning gasoline in an internal-combustion engine, according to numbers compiled by Jennifer Dunn at Northwestern University's Center for Engineering Sustainability and Resilience.
Most North American grids are composed of a mix of generating sources, from coal to hydro to nuclear, though Canada has pledged to eliminate coal-burning plants by 2030.

It's only when electricity comes from clean, renewable sources like wind and solar that you see the most pronounced drop in EV emissions generated to power the car.

Before an electric vehicle even charges for the first time, however, one key part of its power system already has a significant carbon footprint.

"For example, the material that helps power the battery is produced from a number of different metals, things like nickel and cobalt and lithium."

Mining and processing the minerals, plus the battery manufacturing process, involve substantial emissions of carbon.

Lithium mining, needed to build the lithium ion batteries at the heart of today's EVs, has also been connected to other kinds of environmental harm. There have been mass fish kills related to lithium mining in Tibet, for example. The freshwater supply is being consumed by mines in South America's lithium-rich region. Even in North America, where mining regulations are strict, harsh chemicals are used to extract the valuable metal.

And all the operations are energy intensive, sometimes running on diesel generators and relying on carbon-emitting heavy machinery.

12-30-2019, 08:22 AM	#165
whitev70r Willing to sell body for a few minutes on RS Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: 604 Posts: 10,371 Thanked 6,230 Times in 3,002 Posts Failed 320 Times in 161 Posts	Electric vehicles are supposed to be green, but the truth is a bit murkier https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/e...rint-1.5394126 Some EV batteries today pack 10 times as much power as an average household uses in a day. And often, those electric vehicles are being charged at home. Most of the electricity generated by North American grids has some greenhouse gas emissions connected to it. So even if a car isn't belching carbon, it doesn't mean it's perfectly clean. For instance, coal is about the dirtiest way to generate electricity to recharge a car battery. Powering an EV with electricity generated from coal is marginally better than burning gasoline in an internal-combustion engine, according to numbers compiled by Jennifer Dunn at Northwestern University's Center for Engineering Sustainability and Resilience. Most North American grids are composed of a mix of generating sources, from coal to hydro to nuclear, though Canada has pledged to eliminate coal-burning plants by 2030. It's only when electricity comes from clean, renewable sources like wind and solar that you see the most pronounced drop in EV emissions generated to power the car. Before an electric vehicle even charges for the first time, however, one key part of its power system already has a significant carbon footprint. "For example, the material that helps power the battery is produced from a number of different metals, things like nickel and cobalt and lithium." Mining and processing the minerals, plus the battery manufacturing process, involve substantial emissions of carbon. Lithium mining, needed to build the lithium ion batteries at the heart of today's EVs, has also been connected to other kinds of environmental harm. There have been mass fish kills related to lithium mining in Tibet, for example. The freshwater supply is being consumed by mines in South America's lithium-rich region. Even in North America, where mining regulations are strict, harsh chemicals are used to extract the valuable metal. And all the operations are energy intensive, sometimes running on diesel generators and relying on carbon-emitting heavy machinery.