Electric vehicles: Difference between revisions

From the change wiki
No edit summary
No edit summary
 
(One intermediate revision by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
[[File:ghg-pie-chart.png|thumb]]
[[File:BYD Yuan Plus CRI 08 2022 7429.jpg|thumb|An electric car and charger]]
[[File:ghg-pie-chart.png|thumb|16% of the world's [[greenhouse gases|GHG]] emissions are from transportation.]]
'''Problem:''' Most vehicles today run on gasoline, diesel, or other [[fossil fuels]] that cause [[climate change]].
'''Problem:''' Most vehicles today run on gasoline, diesel, or other [[fossil fuels]] that cause [[climate change]].
{{minor|About 16% of the world's [[GHG]] emissions are due to vehicles.}}


'''''Possible'' solution:''' Make vehicles electric. But this comes with some serious challenges that must be dealt with first, before electric vehicles (EVs) can be mass-produced enough to actually make a difference for the planet.
'''''Possible'' solution:''' Electric vehicles (EVs). But there are some serious challenges that must be dealt with first, before EVs can be mass-produced enough to actually make a difference for the planet.


{{considerations}}
{{considerations}} __NOTOC__


==Status quo==
==Status quo==
Line 24: Line 24:
** [[Electric trucks]] (semi trucks / freight trucks)
** [[Electric trucks]] (semi trucks / freight trucks)


==Considerations==
 
===Battery minerals===
----
__TOC__
 
==Battery minerals==
{{sum|Major problem|bad}}
{{sum|Major problem|bad}}
The batteries in today's EVs contain large amounts of metals that are too scarce. This makes EVs expensive and unscalable.
The batteries in today's EVs contain large amounts of metals that are too scarce. This makes EVs expensive and unscalable.
Line 35: Line 38:
* [[Hydrogen]] [[fuel cell vehicles]] are based in '''platinum'''-group metals (PGMs), which are also scarce.
* [[Hydrogen]] [[fuel cell vehicles]] are based in '''platinum'''-group metals (PGMs), which are also scarce.


With either of these technologies, if we want to make all cars electric, there simply aren't enough minerals available to be mined from the Earth. We need to use some other type of [[energy storage]] instead. This involves tradeoffs.
With either of these technologies, there simply aren't enough minerals available to be mined from the Earth. If we want to make all cars electric, we need to use some other type of [[energy storage]] instead. This involves tradeoffs.


====Possible solutions====
====Possible solutions====
* [[Sodium-ion batteries]]
{{minor|To put it simply:}}
** not available on the market yet
* People need to be okay with driving cheap [[short-range EVs]].
** could potentially be built with only abundant materials
* The battery industry needs to get its s**t together and start making low-cost [[sodium-ion batteries]] (even if they aren't as good as lithium-ion).


* [[LFP batteries]]
{{minor|<br />[[Sodium-ion batteries]] are a good potential solution, because they could be built with abundant materials. But this type of battery isn't even available on the market yet. Some companies are investing millions of dollars into ''research & development'', trying to make sodium-ion batteries as energy-dense as lithium-ion. But despite all the hype in the news, there's no guarantee that this will ever happen - and if it does, there's no guarantee that the batteries will be cheap. Meanwhile, sodium-ion batteries could already be a "good enough" solution today, if we just accept the fact that they naturally hold less of a charge than lithium-ion. If battery manufacturers lowered their expectations a bit, they could be making the first sodium-ion batteries in 6 months from now, instead of in 10 years from now!<br /><br />}}
** available on the market
** cobalt-free, but still based in lithium
*** {{minor|in other words, more scalable but still not as scalable as we'd like.}}


The main problem with these types of batteries is that they hold less of a charge - in other words, the vehicle would have [[short-range EVs|less range]]. But at least it would be more affordable.{{qn}} In the case of electric cars, this compromise might actually be fine if the average buyer is okay with it.
Of course there are ''some'' types of EVs that ''have to'' have a long range - for example freight trucks and intercity buses. But maybe if these are the only EVs that use scarce minerals, then there just might be enough minerals to go around.


{{minor|Every once and awhile there's some news article about some company researching / developing / investing in some battery type that will supposedly be as energy-dense as lithium-ion. But there's no guarantee it'll happen in the near future, and if it does, it'll probably be expensive.}}
For mid-range EVs, [[LFP batteries]] might be good enough. They're still lithium-based, but at least they're cobalt-free - and these batteries are already available on the market today.


<!-- TALK:
==Generating enough electricity==
* Maybe refactor this to either be a table or have 1 heading for each energy storage candidate. That way, other things like [[lead-acid]] batteries can be mentioned. Or don't; just have a full table on the [[energy storage]] page.
* I want to make a bolder tl;dr:
** Electric cars are fine if people are willing to settle for less range, and if the battery industry gets its shit together and starts making cheap sodium-ion batteries.
-->
===Generating enough electricity===
{{sum|Major problem|bad}}
{{sum|Major problem|bad}}
* Whenever the electricity comes from [[fossil fuels]], electric cars are [[electric vehicles/fossil fuel powered|barely any better than gasoline cars]] when it comes to carbon emissions.
Whenever the electricity comes from [[fossil fuels]], electric cars are [[electric vehicles/Fossil fuel powered|barely any better than gasoline cars]] (in terms of carbon emissions). This is the case in most parts of the world{{x|If you're lucky to live in an area with abundant [[hydro]] or [[geothermal electricity]], this might not apply to you ''quite as much''. But even in such a region, people would need to charge their cars during ''off-peak'' hours mostly. If the demand for electricity exceeds the capacity of renewables at any moment, then fossil fuel power plants are needed to make up the difference.}}. Globally, the majority of today's electricity '''does''' come from fossil fuels. Other [[energy sources]] have a hard time scaling up.
* The majority of the world's electricity does in fact come from fossil fuels. Other [[energy sources]] have a hard time scaling up.
 
* For electric vehicles to save the environment, we're going to need a lot more [[solar]], [[wind]], or alternative types of [[nuclear]]. Any of these require overcoming some major [[solar/challenge 1|challenges]].
For electric vehicles to save the environment, we're going to need a lot more [[solar]], [[wind]], and/or alternative types of [[nuclear]]. Any of these require overcoming some major [[solar/challenge 1|challenges]].
<!-- TODO: replace the 'challenges' link with a link to a more general page instead of solar -->
<!-- TODO: make a map of where in the world are hydro & geothermal power available and not already at maxed-out capacity -->
<!-- TODO: make a map of where in the world are hydro & geothermal power available and not already at maxed-out capacity -->


===Availability of charging===
==Availability of charging==
{{sum|Ongoing progress}}
{{sum|Ongoing progress}}
{{empty}}
{{empty}}


===Rare-earth magnets===
==Rare-earth magnets==
{{sum|Reasonable}}
{{sum|Reasonable}}
Efficient electric motors need strong magnets, which can only be made with certain minerals known as ''rare-earth elements'' (REEs) {{x|includes neodymium and 16 other periodic-table elements; in nature, they all tend to occur together in the same parts of the earth}}. Luckily, REEs aren't actually that scarce. Even if all vehicles were electric, we wouldn't even come close to running out of REEs.
Efficient electric motors need strong magnets, which can only be made with certain minerals known as ''rare-earth elements'' (REEs) {{x|includes neodymium and 16 other periodic-table elements; in nature, they all tend to occur together in the same parts of the earth}}. Luckily, REEs aren't actually that scarce. Even if all vehicles were electric, we wouldn't even come close to running out of REEs.
Line 73: Line 69:
{{minor|This is true even if all [[energy]] were to come from [[wind]] turbines, which also contain rare-earth magnets.}}
{{minor|This is true even if all [[energy]] were to come from [[wind]] turbines, which also contain rare-earth magnets.}}


{{pn|TODO: Add the calculations & research that led to this statement.}}
<!-- TODO: Add the calculations & research that led to this statement.-->




Latest revision as of 00:17, 16 October 2023

An electric car and charger
16% of the world's GHG emissions are from transportation.

Problem: Most vehicles today run on gasoline, diesel, or other fossil fuels that cause climate change.

Possible solution: Electric vehicles (EVs). But there are some serious challenges that must be dealt with first, before EVs can be mass-produced enough to actually make a difference for the planet.

Status quo

  • Only about 1% of vehicles on the road today are electric.

Types of EVs

By type of energy storage:

  • Battery electric vehicles (most common EVs today)
  • Fuel cell vehicles (very few models on the market today)


By type of vehicle:


Battery minerals

Major problem

The batteries in today's EVs contain large amounts of metals that are too scarce. This makes EVs expensive and unscalable.

More specifically:

  • Almost all of today's EVs use lithium-ion batteries that are made of nickel, cobalt, manganese and of course lithium.
    • Cobalt is the biggest issue: it's scarce, and its production involves child labor.

With either of these technologies, there simply aren't enough minerals available to be mined from the Earth. If we want to make all cars electric, we need to use some other type of energy storage instead. This involves tradeoffs.

Possible solutions

To put it simply:

  • People need to be okay with driving cheap short-range EVs.
  • The battery industry needs to get its s**t together and start making low-cost sodium-ion batteries (even if they aren't as good as lithium-ion).


Sodium-ion batteries are a good potential solution, because they could be built with abundant materials. But this type of battery isn't even available on the market yet. Some companies are investing millions of dollars into research & development, trying to make sodium-ion batteries as energy-dense as lithium-ion. But despite all the hype in the news, there's no guarantee that this will ever happen - and if it does, there's no guarantee that the batteries will be cheap. Meanwhile, sodium-ion batteries could already be a "good enough" solution today, if we just accept the fact that they naturally hold less of a charge than lithium-ion. If battery manufacturers lowered their expectations a bit, they could be making the first sodium-ion batteries in 6 months from now, instead of in 10 years from now!

Of course there are some types of EVs that have to have a long range - for example freight trucks and intercity buses. But maybe if these are the only EVs that use scarce minerals, then there just might be enough minerals to go around.

For mid-range EVs, LFP batteries might be good enough. They're still lithium-based, but at least they're cobalt-free - and these batteries are already available on the market today.

Generating enough electricity

Major problem

Whenever the electricity comes from fossil fuels, electric cars are barely any better than gasoline cars (in terms of carbon emissions). This is the case in most parts of the world(...)( If you're lucky to live in an area with abundant hydro or geothermal electricity, this might not apply to you quite as much. But even in such a region, people would need to charge their cars during off-peak hours mostly. If the demand for electricity exceeds the capacity of renewables at any moment, then fossil fuel power plants are needed to make up the difference. ). Globally, the majority of today's electricity does come from fossil fuels. Other energy sources have a hard time scaling up.

For electric vehicles to save the environment, we're going to need a lot more solar, wind, and/or alternative types of nuclear. Any of these require overcoming some major challenges.

Availability of charging

Ongoing progress

This section has not been filled in yet.

Rare-earth magnets

Reasonable

Efficient electric motors need strong magnets, which can only be made with certain minerals known as rare-earth elements (REEs) (...)( includes neodymium and 16 other periodic-table elements; in nature, they all tend to occur together in the same parts of the earth ). Luckily, REEs aren't actually that scarce. Even if all vehicles were electric, we wouldn't even come close to running out of REEs.

This is true even if all energy were to come from wind turbines, which also contain rare-earth magnets.


See also

Retrieved from "https://olam.wiki/index.php?title=Electric_vehicles&oldid=1591"