Fossil fuel cars consume hundreds of times more raw material than their battery electric equivalents, according to a study that adds evidence that the move away from petrol and diesel cars will bring major environmental benefits.
Only about 30kg of raw material is lost over the life cycle of a lithium-ion battery used in electric cars once recycling is considered, compared to 17,000 liters of oil , according to a Transport & Environment (T&E) study seen by the Guardian. A calculation of the facilities used to make cars according to their weight shows that it is at least 300 times more for cars with oil.
The campaign group said battery-powered electric vehicles outperformed their petrol and diesel counterparts over raw material demand, energy efficiency or cost – as well as eliminating emissions of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases.
The accelerated transition to electric vehicles will incur environmental costs. Higher battery production requires more minerals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel.
However, T&E argued that the cost of extracting oil for fuel represents a much higher environmental tax. The report noted the “dual status” used in assessing the relative benefits of oil and fossil fuel vehicles, which use oil efficiently.
“In terms of raw materials, there is no comparison,” said Lucien Mathieu, transport analyst at T&E and author of the report. “In its lifetime, the average fossil fuel car burns the equivalent of a 25-storey stack of oil barrels. If you pay attention to the recycling of battery products, only about 30kg of metals would be lost – about the size of a football. ”
Advances in battery technology will reduce the amount of lithium, nickel and cobalt required for each car, reducing some of the increased demand for the products as well as reducing car prices. At the same time, global economy rules that require higher recycling rates could further cut demand.
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T&E calculations suggest that battery-powered electric cars use 58% less energy than a petrol car over its lifetime and emit 64% less carbon dioxide. Emissions related to electric cars are mainly made in the energy-intensive manufacturing of batteries, and the majority of emissions associated with indoor combustion engine cars come from its use.
Some manufacturers of indoor combustion engines have argued for the benefits of cutting emissions through hybrids that combine batteries with petrol engines, partly because of the emissions associated with making batteries. . However, Aston Martin went against backlash last year after a report made similar claims – that the large amount of carbon used to charge electric car batteries eliminated the issue of turning away from petrol – given to a PR company registered to the wife of its director at a UK carmaker.