Are Electric Cars Really Eco-Friendly? These days, automakers are confident that they can create battery-powered vehicles that can keep up with and even outperform their gasoline-powered competitors.
The trick is creating lithium-ion batteries that can store more energy while decreasing weight and price. 1.5% of UK vehicles have plugs.
Therefore, the technology is still not widely adopted. However, in Norway, where residents receive substantial tax rebates and other benefits, such as access to bus lanes, the figure rises to 29 percent.
This demonstrates that people are eager to switch to electric vehicles with the help of government subsidies. Sales are expected to skyrocket when prices reach the level of a gasoline equivalent. Which is estimated to happen in the early 2020s.
How Do Electric Cars Compare With Petrol Cars?
The local power grid will determine your electric vehicle’s environmental friendliness. Having solar panels on your car means you can drive without producing any pollution.
To the extent that your home’s electricity comes from a nearby plant that burns fossil fuels. You are merely transferring your greenhouse gas emissions from your vehicle to the facility’s smokestacks.
Read Also: Hydrogen Cars Vs Electric Cars: Which Is More Sustainable?
However, even in regions with the dirtiest coal-fired facilities, electric vehicles still produce fewer CO2 emissions than their gasoline-powered counterparts.
This is because huge power plants convert fuel into electricity more efficiently than numerous smaller engines, and the exhaust in their tall chimney stacks is easier to clean
. And if a wind farm or other renewable energy source opens up locally, electric vehicles will become greener than their gasoline-powered counterparts.
Which Is More Environmentally Friendly, Electric Cars Or Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles?
A hydrogen fuel cell, as opposed to a lithium-ion battery, could be used in an electric vehicle because it allows for emission-free driving. (When hydrogen reacts with oxygen in the air, the byproduct is water).
Compressed gas refills in about five minutes, while recharging the battery of a modern electric vehicle takes at least forty. Producing hydrogen from natural gas requires a lot of energy and heat.
Hydrogen produced in the future by electrolysis (water splitting) using solar-supplied electricity would be just as environmentally friendly as an electric vehicle running on renewable energy sources.
