4 ms·
None of the EV strategies make sense from a CO2 emissions point of view, because producing batteries already emits the equivalent of driving the same petrol car
by jerome-jh 7y ago
None of the EV strategies make sense from a CO2 emissions point of view, because producing batteries already emits the equivalent of driving the same petrol car for 80000 to 100000km. In countries where electricity is largely carbon based (such as Germany), the EV never offsets the CO2 emissions of the petrol one during its lifetime. Only hybrids make sense: it yields the largest fuel reduction per kg of battery, while still being usable cars.
- rhinoceraptor 7y agoThe highest estimate for battery production I can find is 17.5 tonnes of CO2 for a 100kWh battery. Most EVs have smaller batteries than that. One liter of gas will produce about 9.3 kg of CO2 (including production and transport), so with an average fuel economy of 10.58 km/kg, you'd need to drive 20,000 km before the 100 kWh EV makes up for its battery. That's a little less than the average American drives in a year.