Electric vehicles (EVs) have taken over the world. People are now moving towards buying the greener alternative of transportation. With the world becoming more concerned about climate change, EVs seem to be a good option. But there might be a few things to know and work on before its all great!
As per an article by The Guardian, it is estimated that by 2030, there will be about 145m EVs in the world. That’s a large number considering we are just getting started with them.
Now, EVs as the name suggests run on electricity. Its store in batteries, which make up most of the cost when building the vehicle. Compared to the fossil fuel powered cars, they do sound a lot more greener. But, EVs start begin their lives with a disadvantage. As per the article on The Guardian, when manufacturing them there is 60% more carbon emission than when producing a fossil fuel powered car.
Alright, it might start at a disadvantage, but over the long run its still greener, right? Well, it depends. So, lets say you are living in a country where electricity is generated based on greener methods like solar panels or hydroelectricity, its still a valid argument that EVs would be much more sustainable. But, lets say you stay in a country where most of the electricity is produced by burning coal, well there might be a problem there. Cause even though your vehicle might not release any carbon dioxide when you run it, the electricity its powered by already has done that for it. With many countries moving towards greener methods of generating electricity it might not be such a big problem after a decade or so, but at the moment it is.
The batteries are usually made out of lithium and cobalt along with other metals. Mining and refining these metals too have an impact on the planet. With many reports saying that some of these mines may have children working in them, the batteries might not be produced in the most ethical of ways. Many companies have recognised and addressed this issue by announcing that they will be sourcing the metals from the right suppliers.
Infrastructure is another problem when it comes to EVs. There are fuel stations every few miles. You might be in the middle nowhere, but you might have a fuel station around to fill your cars tank up. It might not be the same case for EVs. With too many cars lining up and EV charging points still being built it might take a while till there are enough of these to meet the demand.
The charging time also is a concern for the short term. With more innovations and better technologies this can definitely reduce. But now, when you look at it, it just takes a few minutes to fill up your tank and run your car.
The battery prices are still pretty high. These too will become cheaper in the future with better technology and resources.
The vehicles are still pretty expensive to buy. If the government wants to move towards attaining the goals set regarding climate change, then they might have to subsidize these vehicles. At least until they are affordable.
These are some of the concerns that EV industry currently needs to work upon. Sure, we have seen amazing growth and developments in the industry, but it definitely is going to take some time till its all fixed.
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