Green energy technologies are in demand worldwide. Over 70 countries have set net-zero targets, and even more have pledged to lower their emissions. However, ambitious objectives to scale up green energy sources such as solar, wind, and nuclear are straining natural resources, particularly the minerals required to produce these essential technologies. With more than 50 million electric vehicles expected to be produced annually by 2035 and renewable electricity growth accelerating faster than ever, energy transition objectives risk being delayed if critical mineral supply cannot meet future demand, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s latest thematic report, ‘Critical Minerals,’ identifies 15 minerals that are vital for the energy transition. Of these, the five most critical are lithium, cobalt, copper, nickel, and rare earth elements (REEs), which are imperative to the development of batteries for electric vehicles as well as solar, wind, nuclear, and hydrogen energy.

Electric Cars use rare minerals

Isabel Al-Dhahir, Senior Analyst, Thematic Intelligence at GlobalData, comments: “Several minerals that are critical for the energy transition are facing various supply-side constraints. These include supply shortages, resource monopolization, and geopolitical impediments.”

Al-Dhahir continues: “Geopolitics is now at the center of the critical minerals discussion. The physical presence of many minerals is restricted to certain regions of the Earth, and China dominates the procurement and processing of many more. This has helped accelerate the development of China’s electric vehicle and energy transition industries. Following a delayed reaction, the US and the EU are eager to balance the scales.”

Deposits of critical minerals are typically found in specific regions of the world. For example, much of the world’s lithium reserves are concentrated in South America and Australia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) provides much of the world’s cobalt, and Indonesia dominates nickel production.

Al-Dhahir concludes: “The race to control these mineral assets has led to intense rivalries between China, the US, and the EU, with China currently dominating the mineral supply chain and the development of energy transition technologies. To level the playing field, both the US and the EU have pledged hundreds of billions of dollars worth of financial support to their energy transition industries and the creation of independent mineral supply chains.”

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A study in June 2019, by the IFO think tank in Munich found that electric vehicles in Germany emit 11 percent to 28 percent more carbon dioxide than their diesel counterparts.

The study considered the production of batteries as well as the German electricity mix in making this determination.

German Subsidies

Germany spent thousands of euros on electric car subsidies per vehicle to put a million electric vehicles on the road, but those subsidies have done nothing to reach the country’s greenhouse gas emission targets. This is just the latest example of government programs expecting one outcome and getting quite another, instead. To some it is ironic; to others it is funny. At IER, we believe it to be sad, as it is a waste of time and money that could be better put to use solving real problems.

The researchers compared the carbon dioxide output for a Tesla Model 3 (electric) and a Mercedes C220d sedan (diesel). The Mercedes releases about 141 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer driven, including the carbon emitted to drill, refine, and transport its fuel. The Tesla releases between 156 and 181 grams, including battery production.

Mining and processing the lithium, cobalt, and manganese used for batteries consume a lot of energy. A Tesla Model 3 battery, for example, represents between 11 and 15 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Given a battery lifetime of 10 years and an annual travel distance of 15,000 kilometers, 73 to 98 grams of carbon dioxide are emitted per kilometer.

Germany’s growing reliance on coal for electricity generation was also considered in the study. The country relies on coal when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining. As a result, charging a Tesla in Bavaria releases about 83 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer driven.

The European Union also provides benefits for manufacturers of electric vehicles, by allowing them to claim zero emissions under its strict emissions limits. Not all European countries may emit more carbon dioxide from electric vehicles than from diesel or gasoline vehicles, however. In France, for example, electric vehicles may emit less carbon dioxide than diesel vehicles because France gets the majority of its electricity from nuclear power. But in many other European countries, that is certainly not the case.

Other Alternatives         

According to the German researchers, the European Union target of 59 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer by 2030 corresponds to a “technically unrealistic” consumption of 2.2 liters of diesel or 2.6 liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers. The researchers believe it would be preferable to look at other sources of power for automobiles—for example, methane engines, “whose emissions are one-third less than those of diesel motors.”

Other Studies

A study in 2017 by researchers at the University of Michigan found that the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by electric cars varied wildly by country. The study found that an electric car recharged by a coal-fired plant produces as much carbon dioxide as a gasoline-powered car that gets 29 miles per gallon, which is a slightly higher efficiency than the 25.2 miles per gallon that is the average of all the cars, SUVs, vans, and light trucks sold in the United States over the past year. If the electricity comes from a natural gas plant, recharging a plug-in electric vehicle is akin to driving a car that gets 58 miles per gallon.

Using the U.S. electricity mix, which is generated mainly be fossil fuels (about 64 percent), the researchers at the University of Michigan found that the average plug-in vehicle produces as much carbon dioxide as a conventional car that gets 55.4 miles per gallon. In China, which has been pushing widespread adoption of electric vehicles, the cars emit as much carbon dioxide as a car that gets 40 miles per gallon, due in large part to their heavy dependence on coal.

Note that the above findings are optimistic for electric vehicles because the researchers at the University of Michigan did not take into account the additional substantial carbon dioxide emissions in manufacturing batteries, as did the German study.

A different study from the Union of Concerned Scientists found that, depending on the type of plug-in being built, manufacturing a battery-powered car generates 15 percent to 68 percent more carbon dioxide emissions than a conventional gasoline-powered car because of the energy intensity of manufacturing batteries.

Conclusion

The above studies indicate that the terminology “zero emission” is a misnomer when referring to electric vehicles. Also, lawmakers should be cautious about subsidizing electric vehicles when their electricity is generated mainly by fossil fuels because they are not lowering the carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles by doing so. The old saying that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” may well apply to many of the gimmicks and work-arounds advocated by whatever group is popular with a political and media elite at any given time. Germany’s lessons should be a case study for political leaders everywhere

This article was originally published by the IER in June 2019 

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Call to action

While the emissions of conventional cars are terrible for the environment and human health, electric vehicles are anything but clean – their production requires an enormous input of energy and raw materials.

About 1,800 kilograms of metals and other materials are used in a mid-range electric car such as the Chevrolet Bolt, which marketed in Europe as the Vauxhall/Opel Ampera-e. The European automotive industry imports almost 100% of these materials – and a significant share of them come from mines in tropical countries and rainforest areas.

Lithium-ion batteries, the heart of electric vehicles, are no exception here. The Chevrolet Volt battery pack, for example, weighs 440 kg, which is 10,000 times the weight of a smartphone battery (44 gr). Besides lithium, manganese and graphite, they contain about 10 kg of cobalt and 30 kg of nickel.

In the case of nickel mining, Indonesia and the Philippines are at the forefront of global production. Two-thirds of the world’s cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Cobalt, copper and nickel are mined along an 800-kilometer belt in the rainforest in the south of the country – under catastrophic working conditions, at starvation wages, and by tens of thousands of child laborers.

In the case of iron for steelmaking, Brazil is a leading supplier of the automotive industry. The country is also in first place for copper, followed by Peru and Chile.

The mines of international corporations are thus eating into the rainforests to satisfy the resource hunger of the manufacturers of “clean” electric vehicles.

Simply clogging the roads with millions of EVs is not the answer to our present problems. Tell the EU that we need a fundamental rethink of policies related to raw materials and transport to put them on an environmentally friendly foundation.

The Petition

To: The EU and the governments of the Member States

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A wholesale shift to electric vehicles is neither environmentally sound nor climate-neutral. It would require a vast amount of power that currently cannot be generated in an environmentally friendly manner.

The production of electric cars requires enormous amounts of raw materials that are almost exclusively mined in tropical countries and rainforest areas.

Furthermore, the switch to electric mobility will not bring about a decline in road traffic, as the constantly rising number of vehicle registrations and increasing road congestion show.

We call on you to work to reduce the number of cars and car traffic. Ensure that people can reach their destinations quickly and safely on foot, by bike or by public transport.

We call on you to create create effective new mobility concepts that benefit people and nature.

Yours faithfully,

This article first appeared at https://www.rainforest-rescue.org/petitions/1182/electric-vehicles-are-stealth-rainforest-killers#letter

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