ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES
JOSÉ GABRIEL MEJIAS FIGUEROA
JOSÉ JULIÁN MEJÍAS FIGUEROA
 INTRODUCTION

Electric vehicles (EV) have been getting popular during the past years because
of their modern design, effectiveness, and technological features. Since they
run on electricity, they are perceived by most as being safe to the environment,
but are they really that safe? How does electric cars affect the environment
compared to gas car? How big is their carbon footprint?
 WHAT IS AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE?

Electric vehicles are cars that have an electric motor instead of an internal
combustion engine. They use a large traction battery pack to power the electric
motor and must be plugged in to a wall or charging station to be charged.
Since it runs on electricity the vehicle does not emit harmful greenhouse gas
upon driving. However, they’re other factors to acknowledge that come in to
play when determining how much pollution your electric vehicle generates.
 MANUFACTURING

When it comes to the manufacturing process, both EVs and gasoline vehicles
release a considerable amount of greenhouse gases. Gasoline vehicles release
7 to 10 tons of CO2 during manufacturing. EVs release roughly the same
amount plus an additional 8 to 9 tons of CO2 due to the manufacturing of the
battery. Therefore, EVs release almost double the amount of emissions that
gasoline vehicles release.
 THE BATTERY

One of the main problems with electric vehicles lies in the batteries. Most EVs
run on lithium-ion batteries. As mentioned before, batteries release substantial
amounts of emissions in order to be produced. Additionally, they require rare
materials such as cobalt, lithium, nickel, and other minerals. These minerals
have to be extracted and refined which is an emissions-heavy process.
Furthermore, some of this minerals like cobalt are toxic and can be harmful to
the miners.
 WHERE DOES THE ELECTRICITY COME
FROM?

Electric vehicles don’t directly release emissions, but they can still generate
emissions indirectly. This all factors down to how the electricity is being
generated. To be consider a safer alternative, the electricity should be
produced by renewable energy sources. Unfortunately, this is not the case for
most EV owners since most of the energy is produced by nonrenewable
sources such as coal.
TOTAL EMISSIONS
 CONCLUSION

Electric vehicles compared to petrol cars are safer in the long run, but they still
produce tons of greenhouse gas. The fact is that EVs are still being charge on a
grid powered by fossil fuels. A grid powered by renewable energy sources,
coupled with an efficient battery recycling program as well as improvements
in battery technology, will help toward making the Electric Vehicle the perfect
green machine that helps us toward a better future.
 REFERENCES

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• Trust For the Environment, Young People’s. “Electric Cars.” Young People’s Trust for the Environment,
ypte.org.uk/factsheets/electric-cars/what-are-the-downsides-to-electric-cars. Accessed 23 Oct. 2022.

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assessment of batteries for electric vehicles: Industrial challenges, best practices and research
guidelines." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 169 (2022): 112941.

• Tintelecan, Adriana, Anca Constantinescu Dobra, and Claudia Marţiş. "LCA indicators in electric vehicles
environmental impact assessment." 2019 Electric Vehicles International Conference (EV). IEEE, 2019.

• Ajanovic, Amela, and Reinhard Haas. "On the environmental benignity of electric vehicles." Journal of sustainable
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