Environmental impact of electric vehicles

Nowadays, the trend of “greening” modes of transportations has grown rapidly and is expected to be the dominant path in the future. Electric vehicles are the clearest illustration of this trend. However, they are less environmentally friendly than vehicles using internal combustion engines due to the influence of their structure and manufacturing process. This has vital implications with nations developing the electric vehicle structure and fighting for climate change.

In the beginning, electric vehicles affect the environment throughout the manufacturing process. Essentially, the mining, extraction, and refinement of raw materials, which are then transported and produced into separate components, the overall process of developing and producing an automobile is putting together to make a completed product. The final assembly of electric cars, however, creates greater carbon emissions, according to the Union of Scientists.

Firstly, to reduce weight, manufacturers use aluminium for the body of electric vehicles. Additionally, aluminium is converted into bauxite ore, and the mining process of these cause serious environmental pollution. For example, in Lam Dong province, bauxite mining has disrupted the geological structure, causing the land surface to be lowered by 4.5 - 9 meters, the basalt layer is replaced by the kaolinite clay layer. In the rainy season, in Doi Chin and Doi Thang Loi mines, there are many places where there are local flooding and intense erosion. (moitruong.vn)

Second, the larger batteries electric vehicles store energy, the higher emissions and environmental protection costs are. Because electric vehicle batteries are made of race earth materials such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt, the input depends mainly on mining. These activities have significant impacts on the environment. According to data from the China Rare Earth Association, 1 ton of race earth releases an average of 75 tons of acid waste and radioactive residues. With such large quantities, even they were treated before being discharged into the environment, they will inevitably leak into the environment. Many reports showed that the exposure levels in the vicinity are very high, not only causing environmental pollution but also affecting the population living.

In addition, the impact on the environment of lithium batteries is significant. If it has not been handled and recycled properly, electric vehicles can pollute the environment with thousands of tons of old batteries. For example, in 2011, a fraction of about 5 per cent of lithium batteries was recycled, 95 per cent of others incinerated or dumped in landfills. Dumping or burning lithium batteries can leak hazardous substances into the environment, which can even lead to fire or explosion. On the other hand, the number of batteries being recycled is not much because the batteries are tightly welded to facilitate electrical conduction but at the same time prevent recycling. For efficient recycling, these batteries must be disassembled and the waste streams must be segregated in their parts so that the metal components in the battery can continue to be used the second time.

One of the environmental factors that need to be considered for an electric car is the vehicle's electrical power supply. Today, about 20 per cent of the electricity we use comes from burning natural gas and coal, while clean energy plants such as hydroelectricity, solar power, and wind power have not been developed. strong to ensure the supply of the people. Therefore, the development of electric vehicles will increase CO2 emissions by about 4.3 tons for a distance of 200,000 kilometres (Stuff, 2021). Thus, although they do not directly emit CO2 emissions during use, electric vehicles indirectly participate in the emission process through each electric charge.

However, electric cars will have more positive impacts on the environment if they meet some criteria. Firstly, electric car manufacturers need to improve efficiency and ensure the use of low-emission fuel with electric vehicles shortly. At the same time, manufacturing companies should cooperate with companies that collect and recycle old batteries to reduce environmental pollution and ensure the supply of materials for future battery production.

In conclusion, electric vehicles have both beneficial and harmful impacts on the environment. Although the controversy between them, the growth of electric transportations is undeniable and if it follows the right criteria, it could support effectively for nation’s concern about climate change.