Zero emissions, clean energy … are increasingly common terms in everyday conversations about the electric car. But the term ‘carbon footprint’ seems to go unnoticed. Achieve that this be neutral It is essential to make the future of the electric car 100% sustainable.
Yes, electrics also pollute
But it is true that it is not entirely so. Because, we may not know, but electric vehicles also pollute, even if they carry the ‘zero emissions’ label. Logically, they do not do it while they are circulating, since they do not have an exhaust pipe through which they expel harmful particles …
But yes during the production phase. There are various studies on the carbon footprint of electricity, such as the one carried out by the European Environment Agency. In it they analyzed the environmental impact of an electrified car, from the moment it is designed in the first sketches until it leaves the factory and begins to circulate.
The report left several clues about what we can expect from these new generation cars, and the truth is that the results are surprising, especially for those who had in mind that they did not emit harmful gases into the atmosphere. It is true, it is a carbon footprint that is far from that seen in conventional ones, but it must be taken into account. Now, what is called the carbon footprint and how does it affect electricity?
What is the carbon footprint
Today we are in a Transformation proccess towards a cleaner and more respectful society with the planet. Next-generation vehicle ecosystem technology is still in the process of improvement. In these, the reality is that there is still a long journey to go until the vehicles are climate neutral or, what is the same: that their carbon footprint is neutral.
Governments, organizations and manufacturers must work in one direction so that these commitments are fulfilled and respect for the planet is increasing. The carbon footprint, as such, is the CO2 that a vehicle generates directly (emissions during use). But also indirectly. And it is that, when examining the carbon footprint, it is also valued how is the manufacture of the vehicle, its refueling or even, the type of energy that feeds the assembly line of the car itself.
For this reason, as we mentioned, the objective is that the result is neutral; that the emissions of CO2 equals zero. However; To measure the emissions of polluting gases that a vehicle generates, the process becomes somewhat complex. Here all stages of its service life must be taken into account.
Since the raw materials of its components are extracted until it finishes circulating and is dismantled. Performing these calculations and results depend on each vehicle. This comes, in large part, from urban sprawl that has led to greater dependence on the car.
All these trips require the burning of fuel and, therefore, produce greenhouse gases, which are what affect the increase in climate change. Usually the lighter a car is, less energy will need to work.
Reduction methods
But it is also true that there are manufacturers that, knowing the arduous task that this implies, are also carrying out new instrumentation and methods to make their cars clean, but not only on the road or when they are in operation, which is the idea. principal.
But also throughout that process that involves creating new electric vehicles with which they seek to reduce their carbon footprint that is emerging in parallel. A specific case is the brand that is betting the most and best on the 100% electric segment. She is Volkswagen, which is seen as one of the most conscientious brands for generational and environmental change.
In this regard, the Stuttgart firm evidenced it with its Volkswagen ID.3, born in 2019, as well as the most recent one, the ID.4. In the case of the number 3, it was the brand’s first exclusively electric car. Its manufacture was completely clean, using renewable energy for the entire assembly line.
In fact, if the user charges his vehicle with energy from ‘clean’ sources, the carbon footprint will be, according to Volkswagen, neutral throughout its useful life. The Volkswagen case caught the attention of several other brands, such as BMW among others, but they have not yet taken that decisive step vital for the environment.
How much an electrified vehicle pollutes
Regarding these methods like those of Volkswagen, it is clear that today there is no vehicle electrical that does not pollute or emit gases. As we can see, most of the harmful emissions occur during its production and to a lesser extent with the supply of the vehicle.
Experts agree that the key lies in the renewable or non-renewable origin of the electrical energy used in factories and in vehicle charging points. The volume of associated emissions has tried to be calculated by many studies in recent years and the results they have produced are diverse.
With data from 2019, this carbon footprint in Spain of a person throughout the year was an average of 7.15 tons of CO2 equivalent. Of which 1.27 tons of CO2 equivalent were linked to transport, that is, the 18%. As for the real values of what is the carbon footprint in electric vehicles, we take as a reference the manufacture of Volkswagen itself and its ID.3. This, in your case, encrypted that emits 13.7 gr / km of CO2, for the 7.1 g / km of the diesel version and the 6.8 g / km of the gasoline variant.
This is almost twice the emission of greenhouse gases during the manufacture of an electric car, compared to another equivalent with a heat engine. This is mainly due to the production of lithium batteries.
Thus, despite the fact that much more CO2 is released into the atmosphere in the manufacture of the Volkswagen ID.3, the carbon footprint of electric vehicles is offset while driving. At 200,000 km / h not a single gram of CO2 is expelled into the air. Given this, batteries are the ones that have the most to do with these polluting figures. But there are other values that can be compared with the traditional ones.
Batteries
Thus, it was the Energy Agencies and the Transportation Administration that shed a little more light on these numbers. They showed a report on the carbon footprint of the production of electric batteries, where they placed it at an average of 150-200 kg of CO2 per kWh of battery. Or what is the same: an electric car with a 100 kWh battery has emitted between 15 and 20 tons of CO2 before being launched.
The example was developed from the hand of the Tesla Model S, which uses batteries between 85 kW / h and 100 kW / h. These emissions would be produced for the most part in the manufacture of the battery and its cells. In fact, it accounts for around 40% of the total emissions in the creation of the vehicle. Then, to a lesser extent, during the extraction and refining of its components, here about a fifth.
Inverter motor
As we have seen, the great favor of these electric cars in the face of the carbon footprint is that during their driving it drastically reduces, so their production is the highest. Another case mentioned by the European Environment Agency was that of the Mercedes EQC, in conjunction with the German brand. This, for its part, calculated that its manufacture generates 16.4 tons of CO2. If throughout their life cycle your batteries are charged with the EU power mix, this adds another 16 tonnes.
That’s where the motor-inverter block. Comparing with the results of internal combustion vehicles, be they diesel or gasoline, in the case of electric vehicles aimed at the carbon footprint, the engine and inverter would represent emissions of 1070 and 641 kg of CO2, respectively.
For conventional, this is done with the engine-transmission. In this set for a gasoline propellant, figures of 1,274 kg of CO2 are estimated, a number that increases to 1,539 kg of CO2 in the case of a diesel.
Bodywork
Finally, and in conjunction with the batteries and the motor-inverter and motor-transmission assemblies, what we see are quite large numbers in both segments. Yes, because when it comes to manufacturing what will be the body of one car or another, we also find that contamination runs its course.
For this case, we follow him hand in hand with Estimation of CO2 Emissions of Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle and Battery Electri Vehicle Using LCA, which was prepared by professors from Kogakuin University, Japan, in conjunction with the Mazda firm. In this sense, it was detailed that manufacturing this bodywork set, which would include the suspensions, exterior and interior panels, seats, dashboard, brakes … involves emissions of up to 4219 kg of CO2.
First of all, we could say that thanks to technological improvements, today electric vehicles are a mobility alternative with a much lower impact on the environment. It is true that there are some aspects that are not entirely green and that need to be improved, but they do represent a more respectful and sustainable option than transport by combustion.