The future of transportation is all-electric (at least, that’s what most governments hope will be the case from 2035). This future hinges on electric vehicles producing no tailpipe emissions that could reduce air quality or raise atmospheric temperatures. But most importantly, EVs reduce dependence on the oil industry, which reduces a country’s dependence on another country for its energy needs.
These benefits of electric vehicles (EVs) have made some governments mandate automakers to sell electric vehicles only in the future. In fact, several states in the US, such as California and New Jersey, have issued electric vehicle sales mandates requiring automakers only to sell EVs. This means that the future of gas cars is uncertain since all vehicles from 2035 might be all-electric.
But should electric cars be mandatory? This question is sophisticated since EVs have benefits and serious drawbacks. Read on as this post looks at challenges that plague the EV industry to know if EVs should be mandatory (or not).
The Necessity of Electric Vehicles
It’s easy to see why governments mandate automakers only to sell electric vehicles in the future. That’s because electric vehicles are rightfully placed in a time when carbon emissions from gas vehicles pollute the air and raise the globe’s temperature more than before. Governments and key players in the transport sector formulate policies that necessitate EVs for future travel for various reasons.
Environmental Conditions
If you live in a city, chances are that you’ll see some vehicles puffing out black smoke – you probably see that from older vehicles or heavy-duty commercial trucks. What’s more, the roaring engines of super-charged, high-performance cars contribute to environmental degradation as they cause noise pollution.
If we’re to maintain the environment by reducing noise and air pollution, we’ll need to reduce vehicles producing tailpipe emissions, in this case, gas cars. And what vehicles reduce the number of gas cars? Electric vehicles seem to be great alternatives to gas cars since they don’t pollute the air.
Greenhouse Gases Emissions
Aside from the need to preserve environmental conditions, the EV sales mandate aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Any gas car you see driving releases carbon dioxide into the air through its tailpipe. This gas is a major driver of climate change.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions necessitates electric vehicles on our streets in the future. That’s because electric vehicles don’t produce carbon dioxide since they don’t burn fossil fuels for energy. Instead, they use battery energy to cruise the streets. They’re green alternatives to gas cars.
Energy Security
If your country relies on oil importation from another country, it might spend a lot of money due to oil price fluctuations; this might impact its economic growth. What’s more, political instability can disrupt oil supply and reduce your country’s economic growth. But if you don’t rely on oil energy, your country’s economy remains strong regardless of price fluctuations or political climate.
Electric vehicles reduce a country’s dependence on oil since they consume power generated from renewable energies such as sunlight and geothermal energy. The transport sector of a country with EVs remains uninterrupted since there are alternative energy sources. Besides, countries adopting EVs will develop renewable energy generators and become self-reliant on energy.
Technological Advancements
Adopting electric vehicles will spur technological advancements. To begin with, battery technology will advance. There will be a need for better batteries that provide a longer range if EVs are to be successful. As a result, EV battery packs with a high energy density, fast charging speeds, and improved lifespan will become available for EVs.
Also, countries will develop smart electric grids to meet the increased demand for electricity to charge EVs. The smart grids will likely derive new power from renewable energy sources like solar and optimize charging time based on your EV’s energy demands.
Economic Aspects
Electric vehicles are also great cars for the future because of their economic aspects. If you’re looking past environmental benefits and want a vehicle that’s cheap to own, electric cars present perfect options. Their fuel economy is the best, and they don’t break down often. They are economically viable because of these reasons:
Costs
At first, electric cars seem to be expensive; they have a sticker price higher than that of a gas car. Usually, the battery technology drives the purchase price higher since batteries are expensive EV components. But once you’ve got past the high initial purchase price hurdle, all you’ll know is cheap ownership costs.
Electric cars have fewer moving parts compared with gas cars. There’s a lot less that could malfunction in EVs; that’s why they require less frequent repair and maintenance.
Fuel Economy
Even more impressive is that electric vehicles have the best fuel economy. It costs a lot less to travel 100 miles in an EV than in a gas-powered car. Many EVs consume 1kWh of battery energy for every 3 miles they travel. If you travel 100 miles, your vehicle spends 33.33kWh of energy.
The general electricity rate is $0.15/kWh. Going by this rate, you’ll part with $5 to cover 100 miles in an EV. On the other hand, gasoline retails at $3.40/gallon. If your gas car has a 35 miles/gallon fuel efficiency, it will consume about 2.86 gallons of gasoline to cover 100 miles; you’ll pay $9.7 for the trip. EVs have a better fuel economy, making them better for travel.
Infrastructure Availability
Already, the charging stations are sufficient and accessible, allowing you to charge your EV battery conveniently. You can find public charging stations in parking lots of retail stores and shopping malls. You can also charge your vehicle at home using your installed charging station.
Since it’s easy to boost your EV battery power (either in public or home charging stations), EVs are economically viable.
Challenges Face Electric Vehicles
Electric vehicles generate a lot of buzz as vehicles for the future. But it’s not always a bed of roses for an EV owner since electric vehicles have some drawbacks.
Range Anxiety
Electric vehicles can only go as far as their batteries allow them. They have a built-in lithium-ion battery pack rated in kilowatt-hour (kWh). A battery rated highly stores more energy and powers the vehicle through longer distances. Even if your vehicle has a highly-rated battery pack, there comes a time when you’ll charge its battery.
Even though battery technology has improved and EVs travel greater distances on a single charge now than before, they quite can’t compete against gas cars in the mileage range. Aside from reduced range, EVs take too long to replenish battery power.
Infrastructure Availability
Electric vehicles need a few infrastructures built before you can adopt them as gas car alternatives. First, you’ll install charging stations. Even if you don’t want to rely on public facilities, you still need a home charging station installed.
You’ll also upgrade your electricity grid to support the increased power supply demand. What’s more, you’ll integrate smart grid technology that monitors and controls EV battery charging. Battery recycling facilities will also be built to ensure EVs have a constant supply of high-energy-density batteries.
Building these infrastructures gobbles up more money and time, making their availability to EVs somewhat limited.
Technological Limitation
Lithium-ion batteries powering EVs can only carry a given amount of energy per unit size. The limited energy density restricts how far your vehicle can travel on a single charge. Additionally, charging EV batteries takes more time than putting gasoline in a vehicle.
Even the fastest DC charger takes 30 minutes to give you 80% of battery power. That’s not comparable to the few minutes it takes to fuel a gas car. These two technical limitations make EVs stare down a long path of technological breakthroughs before they can become better than gas cars.
Sociocultural Aspect
Electric vehicles face severe criticism from people who know how they destroy the environment. Producing EV batteries means mining rare metals like lithium and cobalt. First, natural habitats go to waste during mining. What’s more, mining demands a significant amount of water and energy because the mining rigs are energy-intensive to operate, and they have to be cooled.
If the mining site is in an off-grid location, miners turn to diesel generators for power, and that does the harm that EVs aim to avoid. Also, EVs have faced criticisms for how they handle battery disposals. Lithium metal and electrolyte chemicals pose serious risks to the environment if not disposed of correctly.
Future Innovation
It’s clear owning an electric vehicle isn’t a bed of roses; there are a few areas where EVs lag. Maybe future research will solve some of today’s challenges facing EVs. Maybe we’ll witness a breakthrough in battery technology.
Maybe electric vehicles will resort to solid-state batteries that don’t use electrolytes to function. These batteries are still in the works, but they provide a promising future since they have a higher energy density than lithium-ions. That means they’ll significantly increase the range.
Also, we’ll likely see megawatt chargers putting down more energy to boost battery power in a few minutes. We can’t rule out the possibility of wireless charging for EVs as well. If smartphones have it, it’s a matter of time before EVs start using wireless charging.
Conclusion
Even as automakers are under pressure to only make EVs from 2035 onwards, it’s clear that EVs have a few areas that need technological breakthroughs. One such area is battery technology. Everything else about an electric vehicle is good except its battery production. Producing lithium-ion batteries takes a toll on the environment in various ways.
Also, the range has to be improved to make EVs better alternatives. If various governments want to make electric cars mandatory in the future, they have to ensure battery manufacturers don’t impact the environment negatively through lithium and cobalt mining. Also, they’ll have to build essential infrastructures that support all future EVs. Until then, electric vehicles can’t be made mandatory because they’ll restrict movements.
