Page 38 - EE Times Europe March 2022

38 EE|Times EUROPE

OPINION | POWERING THE FUTURE
the various raw materials needed to build
How Can EVs Become the components that will be assembled to
produce the car itself. The steps involved in
battery manufacturing generate an increase
Greener? in “invisible” emissions, putting greener
proposals at a disadvantage.
Batteries are making the most progress in
terms of energy density, recharging speed,
By Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio recycling, and durability, thanks to recent
and ongoing technological developments.
While an EV may pollute more than a petrol/
Can an electric vehicle (EV) produce more carbon dioxide than diesel vehicle under certain circumstances
a diesel engine? In an internal combustion engine (ICE), a chemi- and according to analyst assumptions, these
cal reaction releases CO . No such emission occurs when an EV is are temporary or localized situations that will
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running, but the processes used to produce and power EVs involve soon become marginal. The impact of battery
several CO -emitting steps. production is usually counterbalanced by six
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The main distinctions between the two types of vehicles are the to 18 months of electric driving.
battery and, as a result, the charging technology: electric current There have been significant developments
versus gas. Whereas a traditional car uses an ICE and a battery in this area as a result of the sector’s strong
pack to start up and provide on-board services, EVs employ electric growth and increased sales of EVs, and we
motors and a high-voltage, high-capacity battery pack, as well as a variety of powertrain tech- will undoubtedly better amortize the disposal
nologies. To compare the environmental impact of the two types of cars, we must measure CO 2 of batteries in the coming years, making the
emissions, which are a function of energy consumption in each phase of their respective life and process much greener.
operating cycles: raw material acquisition, production, use, disposal, and recycling. The entire EVs (which may or may not be zero-
electrical grid that is used for charging is also a factor. emission) are a greener option to today’s
The green transition to EVs necessitates decarbonization of the entire energy infrastructure. endothermic engines, which, as we all know,
The process for going about this may differ by country and will be determined by a number of will be phased out over the next few years. To
factors, the most important of which is the level of renewable energy used in each country. The be genuinely sustainable, road transportation
more skewed a country’s grid is toward fossil fuels, the lower the emissions benefits of EVs will must be electrified and complemented by
be in comparison with conventional cars. This means that if you’re driving an EV in the U.S., suitable measures. This includes investing
where fossil fuels have accounted for more than 50% of the country’s energy production in in renewable energy to accelerate the energy
recent years, you’re likely to release more CO into the atmosphere than if you were driving the shift, as well as ensuring that cars have a
2
same car in Iceland, where hydroelectric, geothermal, and solar power are dominant. sufficiently long operating life to amortize the
The use of sustainable resources to recharge EVs is crucial. CO emissions will be much higher additional energy used in the EV manufactur-
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if these cars are not powered by solar panels, wind turbines, nuclear power, or hydroelectric ing process. ■
power. Another consideration for reduced environmental impact is the battery. The convenience
of an EV is directly proportional to its lifetime, which includes the life of the battery pack. Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio is editor-in-chief of
The manufacturing cycle of a car involves the extraction, processing, and fabrication of Power Electronics News and EEWeb.

IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK

MARCH 2022 | www.eetimes.eu