EV vs. ICE: Which Has Greater Environmental Impact?
Many people view electric vehicles as a key solution to tackling climate change and global warming. But is this really true? We know that traditional cars have negative environmental effects, but are they significantly diminished for electric cars, or are these two vehicle types just as bad as each other?
Let’s compare the environmental impact of an electric vehicle (EV) against an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle, especially since the answer is not as straightforward as you may think.
EV vs. ICE: Emissions
The biggest advantage of EVs is that they do not emit harmful emissions into the atmosphere, simply because they don’t burn any fuel and don’t have a tailpipe. Your typical ICE vehicle releases all sorts of dangerous substances, such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and particulates. These all have a negative effect on the planet, with the sheer number of cars on the road today producing mammoth amounts of emissions every minute.
EVs, on the other hand, have no tailpipe emissions because they don’t have an exhaust. This is a big win in terms of the air quality in urban areas, although EVs are by no means emission-less in every respect. Their tires and brakes actually emit harmful particles as they are repeatedly used and worn down over time. In fact, tire and brake emissions are now a major concern, with some reports suggesting that they could be a thousand times worse than exhaust emissions (according toEmissions Analytics).
The particles released by tires and brakes are known as non-exhaust emissions (NEE) and include metallic and rubber materials. However, it has been found that EVs are capable of producing less NEEs than traditional cars because they use regenerative braking (as reported byRAC). In any case, it’s worth noting that EVs do emit such harmful particles into the atmosphere.
EV vs. ICE: Manufacturing
The ICE and EV manufacturing industries are both huge, with companies producing thousands of new vehicles every day. As the demand for EVs increases, manufacturers are working to boost their production rate, and ICE vehicles still stand as the main mode of transport globally, so this industry isn’t going anywhere any time soon. But what effect does this high manufacturing demand have on our planet?
The standard process for ICE manufacturing is by no means environmentally benign. Large factories that consume huge amounts of power are required for the mass production of fuel-burning vehicles, with the process itself having a significant carbon footprint. In fact, for every gasoline or diesel car produced, around 5.6 tons of CO2 are released into the atmosphere (as reported byAuto Express). This is a frightening statistic that reflects how damaging ICE production is to our environment.
Unfortunately, EV manufacturing isn’t much better. Producing EVs is a very energy-intensive process that comes with its own carbon footprint. The majority of EV factories do not use renewable power, meaning their energy is sourced from non-renewable fossil fuels (such as coal, oil, and gas) that also harm the environment. The production of EV batteries is also a harmful process, on which we’ll elaborate more below.
EV vs. ICE: Materials
There are various resources required to build an EV or ICE. These vehicles come with many components that are crucial to their functioning, and the extraction process for the necessary materials has become nothing short of gargantuan.
A standard ICE is made from various metals, including iron, aluminum alloy, and steel. These must all be extracted and melted down to be molded into the desired shape, which is a long and laborious process. To retrieve these metals, ore mining is often required, which can result in potentially irreparable environmental disruptions.
EVs also require certain mineable materials, including steel for their bodies and various rare earth elements for their batteries. There aredifferent types of EV batteries. A standard EV battery primarily requires lithium, as this metal is needed to release ions and generate power within the cells. But on top of this, EV batteries also need various other metals, including cobalt, nickel, and manganese. So, how are these resources accessed?
Let’s start with lithium. Lithium, an inherently crucial EV battery component, can be extracted via evaporation or ore mining. In ore mining, the metal is literally dug for, whereas evaporation involves separating the lithium from other materials within brine water. This is done on large salt flats, such as the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia.
Both lithium ore mining and evaporation can have severe effects on the environment, including groundwater and air contamination, biodiversity loss, increased water salinity, and soil degradation. Local communities can also suffer from water shortages as a result of lithium mining, which can put human lives at risk.
Cobalt, nickel, and manganese extraction can also have a significant negative impact on the planet.
EV vs. ICE: Fuel and Charging
When you’re filling up your ICE vehicle at the gas station, you may not think much of it. But the production of gasoline and diesel is also very dangerous for the environment. The process of extracting and producing non-renewable fuels uses up vast amounts of energy and water and has a nasty carbon footprint. In the refining process of crude oil alone, a CO2 equivalent of 10.2 grams per megajoule is produced with petrol, and 5.4 grams for diesel (as published inThe International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment).
When it comes to emissions, both petrol and diesel have posed a huge problem for some time. A shocking 3,140 grams of CO2 are released per liter of petrol used, while an even more worrying 3,310 grams is released per liter of emitted diesel (as calculated byInnovation Origins).
While ICEs rely on petrol and diesel to function, EVs rely on electricity. The latter is cleaner overall, but EV charging has its own environmental effects.
Consider the typical charging process of an EV. Most drivers simply plug the charging cable into a power outlet at home (perhapsusing a smart home EV charging station), or use apublic charging station like those from Tesla and Electrify Americaif they’re on the go. While this process may seem entirely clean, it’s worth remembering that the vast majority of electricity we use today is generated from fossil fuels. In fact, it was found in 2019 that a shocking 63.3%, or just under two-thirds of the world’s energy, is produced from coal, oil, and natural gas (as reported byOur World in Data).
EV vs. ICE: Lifespan
When it comes to lifespan, both EVs and ICEs have a similar lifespan. In general, you can get around 200,000 miles out of a standard EV battery (as reported byEV Connect) and about 200,000 miles out of a combustion engine (as per a report fromAARP). But can these vehicles be recycled or reused in any way?
There are a number of ways in which an ICE can be recycled, as well as transmissions and practically any other part of a traditional car that is made of metal. Thankfully, ICEs are commonly recycled, and their raw materials are often reused, which is good news in terms of waste output.
Reusing andrecycling EV batteriesis a hot topic nowadays. Disposing of batteries is a tricky process in general, as leeching in landfills can cause various kinds of environmental contamination. Depending on the state of a given EV battery after long-term use, it can either be reused or recycled into a new battery altogether. The goal of many manufacturers is now to repurpose batteries in these ways, instead of simply dumping them in a landfill.
However, recycling EV batteries is a tall order. Some forms of EV batteries require chemical separation, a long and expensive process. Even when a battery is reused instead of recycled, it needs to be broken down into its individual components so that certain parts can be refurbished. ICE recycling, on the other hand, can be just as complex. For example, breaking down an engine for reuse can take a lot of time, and it requires skill. But regardless of the complexity, it’s important to note that both ICE and EV components can be reused or recycled.
EVs and ICEs Both Have Negative Environmental Impact
While EVs provide numerous environmental benefits over ICEs, particularly with their zero tailpipe emissions, both of these vehicle types still harm our planet in different ways. Whether it’s in the manufacturing, mining, or driving process, EVs and ICEs should be considered an environmental hazard. Future developments may make EVs far less dangerous for the environment, but time will tell whether that ever happens.
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