Foreign media: China's electric cars are actually very dirty

According to foreign media reports, China has made great progress in automobile electrification, and electric vehicle sales are booming. Last year, consumers bought more than 300,000 electric vehicles, and it is expected that more than 5 million electric vehicles will be on the road by 2020. The Chinese government has just announced bold plans for a series of large new battery factories.

The media said that although the above information is encouraging, reducing the use of traditional cars and trucks will not immediately reduce China's carbon emissions. On the contrary, the production and development of electric vehicles in China actually produces more greenhouse gases and consumes more energy. In the short term, China's measures may cause greenhouse gas emissions to rise rather than fall.

Electric cars seem environmentally friendly; they are lightweight, energy efficient, and potentially greener than conventional cars. But the reality is more complicated. Electric car manufacturing requires intensive mining of scarce elements, such as the lithium needed for batteries. Fuel efficiency can be made up in usage, but only if the electricity is produced in a relatively clean way.

The media said that developed countries are suitable for electric vehicles because they tend to use cleaner ways to generate electricity. It is estimated that American electric vehicles emit only half the greenhouse gases of ordinary cars during their life cycle. This is especially true in the western, southern and northeastern regions of the United States, where power plants can produce more renewable energy. A comprehensive energy model being developed by the Argonne National Laboratory in the United States has also reached a similar estimate.

Europe is doing well here, too. Norwegian researchers found that across a range of electric and conventional vehicles, EVs produced at least 10% less greenhouse gas emissions (assuming the EVs were driven 150,000 km). To be sure, other environmental costs of EV batteries are associated with mining rare metals. But when it comes to carbon emissions, EVs win.

The media said that the real challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions will exist in developing countries, especially China. In the next few decades, China is likely to dominate the global automobile market. But unfortunately, China's industrial economic structure will make it more difficult. According to a recent study by Chinese engineers, electric vehicles will produce 50% more greenhouse gas emissions and total energy consumption than ordinary cars during their life cycle. Among them, the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries accounts for only 13% of energy consumption and 20% of emissions.

The most promising way to improve electric vehicles has little to do with the vehicles themselves, but rather with energy infrastructure. In China, electricity production still relies heavily on high-carbon energy sources, including coal. As a result, the manufacturing of batteries and the operation of vehicles generate more pollution. China's recycling industry is also underdeveloped, with the recycling rate for steel in the United States at about 70%, while China's is only 11%.

Electric vehicles can help China reduce greenhouse gas emissions only if it deepens its conversion to renewable energy and improves efficiency.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.