Electric Vehicles (EVs) have become the news of transforming the driving experience in a car to a cost-effective solution. Having said that, would it really render value in reducing the major concern of pollution devouring the country to its Doom Effect on Nature? Companies innovating researches with more advanced models of Electric Vehicles, rustles the future of technology. Corporate giants like: Tesla, Honda, Tata Motors, continues their venture in modifying to a next-gen driving module including Autonomous vehicles.
However, under the hood of advanced technology still lies the truth of downgrading environmental serenity. Lithium-ion battery plays a vital role in powering the modern world technologies starting from mobile devices and now even in Electric Vehicles.
LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES
According to Globenewswire, the Global Electric Vehicle battery market is expected to reach $87 Billion by 2027. With concerned global warming effect due to the emission of fuel particles in the air, Governments as well the companies made researches on initiating a new technology as in Electric Vehicles, to reduce such hampering effect on nature.
The increasing demand for Lithium-ion batteries in the production of EVs, mainly serves for the extended lifetime of around 8 to 10 years span providing superior mileage. Such batteries has the ascendancy of rechargeability & eliminating the fuel consumption thereby reducing the carbon emissions from passenger vehicles in a highly charged up populated country.
ETHICAL ISSUES & POLLUTION
Though due to its advocacy in reducing noise and carbon dioxide emissions, eliminating the toxinated release as Nitrogen Oxide (NOX), such manufacturing of Lithium ion batteries for EVs corresponds to high emission of greenhouse gases. According to the finding of researchers, in order to build a single car battery which may weigh around 500 Kilograms, the average carbon dioxide release would be around 74% more compared to manufacture a conventional car, in a factory powered by fossils fuels. Switching to renewable energy in such manufacturing would slash down the rate of emission by only 65%.
Setting apart such facts, evolving ethical issues on mining of natural resources caught attention related to the manufacturing of such Lithium-ion batteries. 'Cobalt' is an integral part in such manufacturing subsequent to other minerals like: Lithium, Nickel & Manganese, required to construct the battery cell's cathode for electricity generation. About 70% of the world's cobalt used in manufacturing comes from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), followed by Cuba leading around 5% of market supply.
Suggested of such supply crisis, Giant Automakers are looking forward onto replacing cobalt with Nickel. Congruent to such reduced pollution, with such Electric Vehicles leading to only 20% of the total current pollution level in future, such alternatives are fruitful to maintain a good environment provided the remaining hit to nature subsides with efficient renewable energies used in manufacturing.