> required fewer rare metals to create Fuel cells require expensive and exotic catalysts, like platinum. So they don't even win there. Hydrogen might have avi

> required fewer rare metals to create Fuel cells require expensive and exotic catalysts, like platinum. So they don't even win there. Hydrogen might have aviation uses but I'm just as skeptical we'll get over the safety issues. > EVs are pretty wasteful if you consider the entire car lifespan Only until the required recycling infrastructure is in place. We can recycle around 96% of the material used in batteries. There's much less equipment needed for an EV, compared to ICE. There's also a push to use less of rare earth minerals like cobalt. Any advances in battery tech (like solid state batteries) can be easily incorporated, as electric motors don't care where the electricity comes from. EVs don't have spark plugs(consumable), oil pumps and filters, alternators(the drive motors work as alternators for regen braking), air filters, crankshafts, valves, pistons, exhaust(and catalytic converters with rare metals), starter motor... the list goes on. Even the brake pads last longer. It's at a minimum a battery bank, an electric motor, and some electronics to manage power. An order of magnitude less moving parts (that have to be manufactured, wear out, and have to be replaced). > the ecologically superior action is just to drive an old ICE. An old but relatively recent, fuel-injected ICE with the latest emissions standards? Probably much than getting a new one built, yes. A really old one with a busted engine (or one before we had catalytic converters in the exhaust)? Then I do not know. Might be better to scrap and get a somewhat less old vehicle. Honestly, the ecological win here would be to convert the existing fleet into EVs, rather than creating entirely new cars. There are some hobbyists doing that successfully. It's not even difficult - the difficult part is adapting the parts to fit the specific vehicle. The economics may be difficult to justify, however. At some point, when we have a sizable EV fleet, getting recycled batteries into them would be the way to go. They will probably last longer than our current ICE vehicles.