Academic writing

Nino Ondrovic ID- 62005760

Final assignment

Research Question
Are electric vehicles the real solution to internal combustion engines vehicles in modern
day transportation?

Thesis statement
The Aim of this paper is to demonstrate why Electric vehicles (EVs) are not the
Sustainable solution to Global transportation.

Literature review
„Electric cars: the battery challenge" was written by David Castelvecchi and is an
academic text where he addresses the recycling of electric batteries, and looks at
components that can be recycled and reused however also points out elements that
will be problematic to recycle in the future.
„Would more electric vehicles be good for the environment?" Was published in
2020 by Ben Lieberman where he addresses the manufacturing environmental
problems there are when gathering elements for lithium-ion batteries, also looks at
the long-term issue with battery disposal and how all renewable electricity would
not eliminate the negative environmental impact.
"a paradox over electric vehicles, mining off lithium for car batteries" was written
by John H. On October 27. In this journal, John explains the chemical compounds
between different elements used to manufacture car batteries. John also addresses
the technological improvments in car batteries and their increased range and how
different batteries are used in different situations.
An article under the name "The rise and fall of American Lithium" was written by
Alessio Miatto, in this article Alessio points out how the USA ruled the lithium
market, describes the huge lithium reserves hidden under the mountains and
explains why the USA isnt a suitable source for this element.
"Lead exposure from car batteries" by Richard Fuller is an Article where the author
explains the toxic potential of lead when exposed to the human body, provides us
with a case study from Senegal where he explains how children are forced to work
long overtime exposed to these deadly substances.
„Electric Vehicle impact on the energy industry, policy, technical barriers, and
power system" is a journal and was written by Ahmed G. Et. al. where he explains
the increasing demand for electric vehicles, Ahmed et al also explain the difference
in efficiency of electric vehicles have when compared to standard internal
combustion engine vehicles. In this journal, we can preview a timeline of when and
how were electric vehicles developed and how the global stock of electric vehicles
started exponentially increasing after 2014.

Introduction
In the Last 20 years, we have witnessed An exponential growth in popularity and
technological development in Electric Vehicles (EVs), The environmental
positives of electric cars are still unclear as more and more research is conducted
we stumble upon extensive problems involving environmental, ethical and political
Issues manufacturing and gathering resources for these upcoming vehicles
(Steinweg, 2011). The key to making electric vehicles sustainable is the
development of the power units that allow the car to move which in this case are
the batteries. Car batteries are manufactured from lithium nickel cobalt aluminum
(NCA), which is the product of lithium nickel manganese cobalt (LMO), lithium
titanate (LTO), and lithium iron phosphate (LFP). As the demand For Electric
vehicles arises Tim Steinwig has multiple problems to address "It is expected that
these technologies will create a surge in demand for the needed raw materials,
most notably for lithium. Additionally, such a rapid increase in demand for electric
cars will also create a surge in electric battery production" (p. 2) which will lead to
political challenges as this will be a globally competitive market. (Steinweg, 2011).
Finding an alternative to light-duty combustion engines vehicles will be crucial
since these types of vehicles account for approximately 10% of energy use and
emissions and that is without airplanes busses and other transportation options.
Latest studies showed an exponential increase in vehicles ownership that is
expected to jump from 700 million (2000) to 2 billion by 2050. (Hawkins, 2013)

One major advantage that makes Electric Vehicles special when compared to
classic conventional vehicles is the fact that motors used in an electric vehicle are
very close to being 100% efficient (energy transfer from the battery to the motor),
whereas, on the other hand, we have combustion engines which can transfer only
30-40% of the burnt fossil fuels into mechanical energy which allows the vehicle
to move (Khalil et. Al., 2022). In addition to that Electric vehicles such as Tesla
Motors vehicles are a lot easier to produce and maintain, combustion engine
vehicles need far more complex components than EVs including a starting system,
exhaust system, engine piston lubrication system, gearbox, engine cooling system,
and more on the other, hand Electric vehicles need only three main mechanical
components to work – electric motor, battery and a computer with software that
allows the car to function (Helmers, E., Marx, P. 2012).

Removing all these components as done when manufacturing EVs brings many
environmental benefits such as- EVs are known to be characterized with the phrase
"Zero tailpipe emission" which is correlated with the output of Petrol/diesel
vehicles (a mix of carcinogenic gasses including Carbon dioxide (major
contributing factor towards climate change) Carbon monoxide (very toxic to
humans) and nitrogen oxide which is produced in any combustion process) which
is highly toxic towards the environment. (Costa et. al ., 2021). Since there are more
cars every day and the number will only grow it is critical to understand the
potential danger these gasses produce – in China, there are over a million deaths
annually that have been associated with toxic air pollution clouds (Costa et. al .,
2021) covering major cities such as Changji or Wujiaqu. Electric vehicles have a
potentially bright future especially in inner-city transportation since their range still
isn't that extensive (ranging from 50km-400 depending on the battery age and
model of vehicle) and don't produce any carcinogenic oxides when operating, in
addition to that electric vehicles are known to be quieter than regular combustion
engine vehicles (especially old petrol inefficient engines) adding another positive
benefit towards the environment. (Costa et. al ., 2021) in addition to that Energy,
security is increased by electric mobility since it decreases many nations' reliance
on oil imports from foreign countries. Additionally, a range of sources and fuels,
many of which are domestically produced, can be used to produce electricity. The
environmental impact is significantly reduced when these sources are renewable.
(Zhao et. Al. 2022)

Electric vehicles also carry many problems as mentioned earlier, manufacturing

and an electric cars are very close to producing an internal combustion engine
vehicle, the only difference between the two is the powertrain, latest studies
suggest that producing a lithium-ion battery for an Electric vehicle is more energy
and resource-demanding than manufacturing a conventional vehicle. According to
UBS (financial firm) replacing all internal combustion engine vehicles with EVs
would require an increase of 2,898% in lithium mining (mostly mined in Australia)
and a 1,928% increase in cobalt Mining which is mostly done in DRC (Democratic
Republic of the Congo) which brings together many environmentalists and human
rights groups since these mines are known for non-existing safety measures
towards the workers and child labor issues. (Lieberman, 2020) At the time the
mining and processing of raw materials to manufacture electric vehicles is
relatively small however already environmentally problematic.

Lithium, as mentioned earlier is mostly gathered in Australia however globally we

found the largest reserves in Chile on The South American Continent. Along with
many other problems purification of these resources requires large amounts of
water which will create a shortage when the demand for lithium increases as the
demand for EVs increases, water shortage in South America can be especially
problematic since a big portion of the population relies on agriculture forcing
farmers and ranchers move or adapt to new terms (Khalil, 2020) . Shortage of
water will also generate other threats such as "ecosystem degradation" or even
"surface landscape damage" (Lieberman, 2020). In addition to that elements used
in manufacturing finished car batteries are usually found in very low
concentrations (sometimes less than 1%) meaning that around 20 tons of ore need
to be processed to produce a single car battery which will have a three or four-year
lifetime. (Lieberman, 2020) Mining ores in the future will get more difficult as we
are slowly running out of near-surface deposits meaning opening new deep shafts
will require the removal of large amounts of earth material to reach these deposits
which will be very costly and don't guarantee any results as these deposits are very
random with an extensive concentration range. (Lieberman, 2020). The USA could
be a source for the majority of the elements needed to manufacture these batteries
however since the USA is flooded with environmentalists groups mining these
materials in the USA is mostly forbidden however also it would be useless since
they would had to be sent overseas for processing purposes because of cheap labor
and other manufacturing purposes keeping the manufacturing cost price low
(Miatto, 2020)

Life time considerations are another difficulty of electric vehicles that has not
received enough attention. While handling more than 10 million abandoned
conventional vehicles annually along with their lead-acid batteries is done without
significant costs or environmental issues, doing so for EVs won't be as simple. The
same chemicals used to make EV batteries carry many of the same environmental
dangers, which make disposal more difficult (Lieberman 2020) Additionally, if
millions of new EV batteries are produced each year, there will also be millions of
used batteries that need to be disposed of.

Conclusion
Electric vehicles have a major environmental advantage over classic combustion
engine vehicles which is that they have zero exhaust emissions however there are
disadvantages as well. The production of Electric vehicles needs a lot more energy
inputs and more mining processes when gathering all the necessary elements to
assemble the vehicle (Liebermann, 2020). In addition to that mining of these
elements is highly unethical using children as cheap workforce putting their lives
in danger every day by potential rock fall, landslide, intoxication, etc. In addition
to that replacing standard gasoline with electric energy only slightly tilts the
environmental footprint but it does not remove it completely. As mentioned earlier
mass production of lithium-ion batteries could create another recycling problem
that we aren't familiar with yet causing other unpredictable environmental changes.
The key takeaway of this essay is that replacing internal combustion engines with
electric motors might create a temporary benefit however in the long run costs
outweigh the positives.
 REFERERENCE LIST

Abo-Khalil, A. G., Abdelkareem, M. A., Sayed, E. T., Maghrabie, H. M., Radwan, A.,
Rezk, H., & Olabi, A. G. (2022). Electric vehicle impact on energy industry,
policy, technical barriers, and power systems. International Journal of
Thermofluids, 13https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijft.2022.100134

By Davide Castelvecchi Batteries for an electric car are assembled at the Audi
production plant in Brussels. (n.d.). Nature.com. Retrieved January 24, 2023, from
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02222-1.pdf

Costa, C. M., Barbosa, J. C., Castro, H., Gonçalves, R., & Lanceros-Méndez, S.
(2021). Electric vehicles: To what extent are environmentally friendly and cost
effective? – Comparative study by european countries. Renewable and Sustainable
Energy Reviews,  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2021.111548

Fuller, R. (2009). Lead exposures from car batteries--a global problem. Environmental

Health Perspectives, 117(12), A535. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.0901163
Hawkins, T. R., Singh, B., Majeau-Bettez, G., & Strømman, A. H. (2013).
Comparative environmental life cycle assessment of conventional and electric
vehicles: LCA of conventional and electric vehicles. Journal of Industrial
Ecology, 17(1), 53–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-9290.2012.00532.x

Helmers, E., & Marx, P. (2012). Electric cars: technical characteristics and
environmental impacts. Environmental Sciences Europe, 24(1), 14.
https://doi.org/10.1186/2190-4715-24-14

Klöckner, C. A., Nayum, A., & Mehmetoglu, M. (2013). Positive and negative
spillover effects from electric car purchase to car use. Transportation Research.
Part D, Transport and Environment, 21, 32–38.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2013.02.007

Lieberman, B. (n.d.). Would more electric vehicles be good for the environment? Cei.org. Retrieved
January 24, 2023, from https://www.cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Ben_Lieberman_-
_Would_More_Electric_Cars_Be_Good_for_the_Environment.pdf

Luong, J. H. T., Tran, C., & Ton-That, D. (2022). A paradox over electric vehicles, mining of lithium
for car batteries. Energies, 15(21), 7997. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15217997

Miatto, A., Reck, B. K., West, J., & Graedel, T. E. (2020). The rise and fall of American
lithium. Resources, Conservation, and Recycling, 162.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105034

Steinweg, T. (2011). The electric car battery: Sustainability in the supply chain. SSRN Electronic
Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1802553

Zhao, X., Tao, W., Ma, X., Wang, C., & Mentel, G. (2023). Exploring the role of environmental
regulation on energy security: Contextual findings for sustainable development in Chinese
provinces. Gondwana Research: International Geoscience Journal, 116, 113–124.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2022.12.017

Abo-Khalil, A. G., Abdelkareem, M. A., Sayed, E. T., Maghrabie, H. M., Radwan, A., Rezk, H., &
Olabi, A. G. (2022). Electric vehicle impact on energy industry, policy, technical barriers, and
power systems. International Journal of
Thermofluids, 13https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijft.2022.100134

By Davide Castelvecchi Batteries for an electric car are assembled at the Audi production plant in
Brussels. (n.d.). Nature.com. Retrieved January 24, 2023, from
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02222-1.pdf