Photo: Nissan
The relentless war between those advocating for the rapid adoption of electric cars and their detractors entered a new stage on Tuesday after a new study was published by Bloomberg on behalf of Berylls Strategy Advisors.
As virtually all carmakers that matter announced extensive plans to either go fully electric or hybridize their models, plants that manufacture electric car batteries are working in overdrive, trying to keep up with demand.
According to data compiled by the Bloomberg New Energy Finance, by 2021 some 10 million 60 kWh batteries would have been produced, most of them in China Thailand, or Germany. Places, Bloomberg says, that rely on coal to produce the energy needed for manufacturing.
On its part, Berylls says that in Germany there will be 74 percent more C02 resulting from manufacturing a 500 kg (1,100 pounds) battery than from putting together a conventional car while using fossil fuels.
The source goes even further and adds that a German fossil fuel-powered car would need to drive for about three years or 50,000 km (31,000 miles) before catching up to the emission levels generated by the production and operation of a Nissan Leaf.
There is no denying the fact that the need for electricity has increased greatly over the past few years. This increase comes on one hand from the invention of yet another electricity-eating tool – the electric car – and on another from the birth of the new industry needed to manufacturer EV batteries.
There is also no denying that at this moment it could be worse to build electric cars in large numbers than using improved variants of the good-old combustion engine.
There is, however, a noticeable shift in the automotive industry towards green energy, one that is only to accelerate in the years ahead, so the numbers put forward today by these studies will likely lose their relevance sooner rather than later.
According to data compiled by the Bloomberg New Energy Finance, by 2021 some 10 million 60 kWh batteries would have been produced, most of them in China Thailand, or Germany. Places, Bloomberg says, that rely on coal to produce the energy needed for manufacturing.
On its part, Berylls says that in Germany there will be 74 percent more C02 resulting from manufacturing a 500 kg (1,100 pounds) battery than from putting together a conventional car while using fossil fuels.
The source goes even further and adds that a German fossil fuel-powered car would need to drive for about three years or 50,000 km (31,000 miles) before catching up to the emission levels generated by the production and operation of a Nissan Leaf.
There is no denying the fact that the need for electricity has increased greatly over the past few years. This increase comes on one hand from the invention of yet another electricity-eating tool – the electric car – and on another from the birth of the new industry needed to manufacturer EV batteries.
There is also no denying that at this moment it could be worse to build electric cars in large numbers than using improved variants of the good-old combustion engine.
There is, however, a noticeable shift in the automotive industry towards green energy, one that is only to accelerate in the years ahead, so the numbers put forward today by these studies will likely lose their relevance sooner rather than later.
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