Skip to main content

How Do Electric Cars Reduce Pollution and By How Much?

How Do Electric Cars Reduce Pollution and By How Much?Photo from Unsplash

Originally Posted On: https://www.jjpremiumcars.co.uk/thehub/how-do-electric-cars-reduce-pollution-and-by-how-much

 

Ask anyone about the most significant issues we are facing and you’ll likely hear one phrase: climate change. Most of us are now all too familiar with the term, which first appeared on a scientific paper in the US back in 1975.

The bottom line is that the planet is heating up, and reversing the trajectory we’re currently on will require some serious investment. Electric vehicles (or EVs) are just one small piece of a puzzle that, it’s hoped, will help us reverse the damage done to Earth’s vital ozone layer.

But how do they work, and how much could they actually help? Let’s find out.

The environmental challenge

First, a look at the issues EVs could potentially help us solve. According to New York’s Environmental Defense Fund, vehicles emit approximately 27% of the world’s greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the biggest contributor to climate change, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the average car releases 4.6 tonnes of the stuff every year.

Transport is the single biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, ahead even of electricity production – so putting everyone behind the wheel of greener cars is high on the environmental agenda for governments the world over.

According to The National Interest, if every car in the UK was electric, our total carbon emissions would reduce by 12%.

And the issues don’t stop there. Emissions from cars aren’t just bad for the planet’s health – they’re bad for ours too. Besides CO2, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), sulphur oxides, carbon monoxide and heavy metals like lead and mercury are released from tailpipes. Breathing all this in can be particularly harmful to our lungs, with research increasingly finding links between air pollution and lung disease.

This is a particular problem in cities like London, whose Mayor says that as much as half of the pollution in the air comes from road transport. In response, cities across the country have begun introducing Clean Air Zones (CAZ) or Ultra-Low Emission Zones (ULEZ). Oxford has gone one step further, introducing the nation’s first ever Zero Emission Zone (ZEZ); non-EVs are required to pay a daily fee to access the area.

Let’s not forget noise pollution. It may not impact the ozone layer, but it can certainly keep us awake at night – and EVs are almost completely silent. Cities look set to get a whole lot quieter in the coming years.

How much cleaner are EVs than petrol and diesel cars?

EVs are nothing new. They’ve been around for longer than petrol cars, in fact, the very first models arrived in the 1830s. Instead of an engine and fuel, EVs use a motor (or multiple) and batteries. Some have the motor installed at the front, where an engine would normally go, while others place them directly next to each wheel.

Because they’re not burning any fuel, they don’t have an exhaust pipe – and they don’t create any harmful emissions. So, if you focus purely on the emissions the car produces when it’s driving, EVs are 100% cleaner than any petrol or diesel vehicle.

Just how clean they are overall, however, depends on the source of the electricity used to charge them.

Emissions don’t just come from the tailpipe of a car, though – the brakes also release their fair share of particulates into the air when they’re applied. Although EVs still have brakes, just like any petrol or diesel car, they don’t need to be used as often. EVs use something called regenerative braking to help recapture some of the energy that would ordinarily be lost when you slow down. This feature engages when you lift off the accelerator, slowing the car down noticeably – much like a light press of the brake pedal. In many cases, EV drivers can slow down for obstacles simply by lifting their foot off the accelerator, which helps recharge their car’s battery and reduce emissions from the brakes – it’s a win-win.

Let’s return to CO2 emissions for a moment. According to EDF Energy, one electric car could, overall, save an average of 1.5 tonnes of CO2 per year versus a regular petrol or diesel car. In larger countries like the US, where average mileages are higher, this figure increases further.

So, in short, EVs are completely clean in terms of ‘exhaust emissions’ – because there are none!

Wider environmental impact

‘Hold up,’ you may be thinking. ‘What about the production process? Isn’t making an electric car more harmful to the environment than making a regular car?’

In a word, yes. This is one of the few downsides to EVs. Manufacturing the lithium ion batteries uses a lot of energy – considerably more than is required to put together an internal combustion engine.

Fortunately, the environmental impact of EV manufacturing pales in comparison to the environmental benefit of driving them around. Although they’re harder to make in the first place, they’re so much cleaner from that point onwards that they’re still much better for the planet than petrol or diesel cars. Car makers are learning how to make their electric powertrains more efficient as time goes on, too.

What about when an EV reaches the end of its useful life?

Although it’s possible to recycle their batteries, it’s not cheap. Currently, it’s more affordable to mine for new materials than it is to source them from old batteries. This cost will doubtless reduce over time however, and even if we don’t recycle them, we can re-use them. EV batteries can be repurposed for energy storage, used in other vehicles or used as a backup power source – the possibilities are endless.

Although it was initially thought that an EV battery could last for between five and 10 years before experiencing a significant performance loss, this is gradually proving not to be true. The general consensus now is that they could last for up to 20 years – longer than the average lifespan of most cars.

Overall then, electric cars look set to be the future of road transport – clean, quiet and convenient. Although petrolheads will miss the sounds and smells of internal combustion engines, for most motorists (and the planet), EVs tick every box.

Data & News supplied by www.cloudquote.io
Stock quotes supplied by Barchart
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes.
By accessing this page, you agree to the following
Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.