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New technologies are often difficult to accept. This was the case with the first cars in 1900. “The car is a temporary phenomenon. I believe in horses», German Emperor II. Wilhelm is said to have defended the ubiquitous chariots at the time. A big mistake as we now know.
The situation with electric cars has been similar for a long time. Even when Tesla presented the first mass-market Model S in 2012, the ladies and gentlemen on the executive floors of major auto companies in Detroit, Wolfsburg or Tokyo were laughing. E-cars will never prevail, at least in the foreseeable future. Today, nearly one in five new cars sold in Switzerland is an all-electric vehicle – and the rest of Europe is also scrambling to end fossil-based mobility: In March, after a long back and forth with German Transport Minister Volker Wissing (52). The EU Parliament has finally decided to ban the sale of cars with internal combustion engines from 2035. It’s time to get to the bottom of the most common myths surrounding e-mobility:
Myth 1: The battery destabilizes every e-car
That’s right: Because of the battery, an e-car initially carries a larger “CO₂ backpack” than a comparable internal combustion engine. Opel Corsa example: The petrol engine (1.2 l, 101 hp) requires 9.2 tons of CO₂ equivalent to produce, while the Corsa-e (136 hp) uses 15.9 tons of CO₂, according to the Paul Scherrer Institute. But the electric car is catching up fast: according to the standard, the petrol engine consumes 5.8 l/100 km, while the Corsa-e consumes 17.3 kilowatt-hours (kWh), which corresponds to an energy volume of 1.9 l/1. 100 km. After about 40,000 kilometers, the electric car has already surpassed the gasoline car in terms of climate stability. At a mileage of 200,000 kilometers (including production, operation, disposal), emissions from the gasoline engine are 47.1 tons of CO₂, while the Corsa-e has only 23.7 tons of CO₂.
Myth 2: Batteries are very expensive and e-cars are only for high earners
The most expensive component in an electric car is the battery. A kilowatt hour (kWh) is still about 150 francs today, and accordingly a 50 kWh battery costs about 7500 francs. Electrification started in the luxury segment due to high costs. However, the product range has grown tremendously in recent years: the cheapest electric vehicles today start at around CHF 20,000. Experts assume that by 2026 at the latest, e-cars will be cheaper than internal combustion engines of the same size. In operation, e-cars are already cheaper due to lower energy and service costs.
Myth 3: Extraction of raw materials destroys the environment
Basically, every car – whether electric or internal combustion engine – consumes huge amounts of raw materials and encourages environmental exploitation. Again and again in Stromern’s critique: lithium from the salt deserts of South America. Lithium-containing brine is carried to the surface from underground lakes and evaporates in ponds. The result is white carbonate, which is used for batteries. Although no potable water is required for extraction, the extraction of large amounts of saltwater can cause freshwater to flow in, causing the groundwater level to drop, experts say. That’s why many manufacturers rely on lithium from mining mines in Australia, the world’s largest lithium mining country.
Myth 4: E-car manufacturers encourage child labor
In fact, lithium batteries often use cobalt from sub-Saharan Africa, such as the Congo, where child labor is common. That’s why research is being done on cobalt-free batteries. What doesn’t do things better, but is often overlooked by critics: Child labor in the extraction and processing of raw materials is as commonplace for conventional engines as it is for clothing, smartphones or laptops. Professor Volker Quaschning, specialist in regenerative energy systems from HTW Berlin: “It is gratifying that the issue of child labor is again being discussed more broadly thanks to e-mobility”.
Myth 5: More electric cars mean more nuclear power plants
The power requirement of e-cars is overrated. Energy expert Dr. Gil Georges of ETH Zurich: “If we look far into the future and say we’ve electrified 4.5 million cars on our roads, we’re talking about 12 to 14 more terawatt hours of electricity. Measured against current consumption in Switzerland, that’s 15 to 25 percent.” For comparison: industry and commerce need 60 percent of the total electricity. Technically and economically, the additional requirement can therefore be met relatively easily.
Myth 6: A battery has a very short lifespan
Most automakers today offer an eight-year or 160,000-mile warranty. And even then the capacity of the batteries should be at least 70 percent of their original value. Long-term tests often achieve significantly higher values. And even after that, the battery is by no means worthless. It can continue to be used for more than 10 years in what is known as Second Life, for example as a buffer to store solar energy in buildings or to compensate for peak loads at fast charging stations.
Myth 7: EV batteries are not recyclable
The raw materials in a modern lithium-ion battery are too valuable to be left unused. In addition to large amounts of aluminum, steel and plastic, a battery also contains critical raw materials such as lithium, manganese, cobalt and nickel (see graphic). As of today, more than 90 percent of the components of an electric car battery can be recovered. However, recovery to the last gram is still very expensive right now, but will be real in a few years. Reason: There are currently not enough e-car batteries to be recycled.
Myth 8: There will never be sustainable batteries
Billions of dollars are spent worldwide on the research and development of new types of batteries. Two concepts in particular are promising: solid-state and sodium-ion batteries. The former is lighter and good for 30 to 40 percent more range because the charge is carried by the solid electrolyte, not the liquid. They have much better environmental stability than lithium-ion batteries, contain almost no critical raw materials, are non-flammable and withstand deep discharge. By the middle of the decade, they could go into mass production. Sodium-ion batteries from China also have great future prospects – announced for 2023. In addition to cost and sustainability, the advantages of lithium, nickel, and cobalt-free rechargeable batteries are thermal stability at sub-zero temperatures and faster charging.
Source: Blick
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
