Busting the myth: Why EVs aren't always greener than petrol or diesel vehicles
Aug 9, 2024
Credit: iStock
Emissions due to electricity generation
An EV is as clean as the source it gets its electricity from. The sustainability of an EV depends largely on how the electricity that it's using is generated. In India’s case, most of the electricity is generated using coal, which indirectly makes it questionable.
Credit: iStock
Sourcing of lithium
Mining and sourcing of lithium comes with its own CO2 emissions. For instance, according to greenmatch.co.uk for every tonne of lithium mined, it results in 15 tonnes of CO2 emissions in the environment.
Credit: iStock
Vehicle longevity and its impact
From sourcing the raw materials to scrapping, EVs have a huge environmental impact, and its degree depends on how long an EV is driven. A rough estimate says that for an EV considered to be greener than a traditional vehicle it has to be driven for at least 1,00,000 kilometres but usually most people change their vehicle before reaching this number.
Credit: iStock
Battery disposal and recycling
Batteries are easily recycled but the infrastructure around it is mainly for lead acid batteries. But today almost every EV uses a lithium ion-based battery due to its efficiency and reliability, which means there is a need for an updated recycling infrastructure.
Credit: iStock
Raw material supply chains
We can’t neglect the fact that the raw material sourcing is not very clean itself. For instance, a good chunk of lithium comes from places with low availability of water and whatever is available is diverted to meet the requirements of lithium mining operations which impacts the area’s ecology and local population.
Credit: iStock
Grid impact
A large influx of EVs can put an additional load on the grid which directly results in increased electricity demand. To meet this demand, chances are that companies would rely on less clean sources until they upgrade their capacity to meet the new demand.
Credit: iStock
Energy and resource use in manufacturing
Due to the present infrastructure not being optimised to its fullest potential, EV manufacturing leads to habitat destruction and water contamination. Additionally, the extraction process of lithium, nickel and cobalt often involves energy-intensive methods that can contribute to carbon emissions.
Credit: iStock