EVs have an electric motor instead of an internal combustion engine (ICE). The vehicle uses a large traction battery pack to power the motor and must be plugged in to a charging station or wall outlet to charge. Most EVs use lithium-ion batteries, which have higher energy density, longer life span and higher power than most other practical batteries.
EVs are an environmentally friendly alternative to petrol or diesel cars as they generate much less air pollution, releasing no exhaust air pollutants. From wheel to wheel, EVS emit approximately 66% less carbon dioxide (CO2) compared with ICE-powered vehicles. The emissions associated with the electric drivetrain of EVs come from power plants generating electricity to charge the batteries – emissions can therefore be further reduced if renewable energy is used to recharged an EV. Noise pollution is also cut out due to the fact that an EV is nearly silent.
Running costs for fuel, maintenance and car tax are much lower for EVs. As company cars tend to travel further on a daily basis, the payback on the original purchase price is faster, making EVs particularly attractive for fleets.
One of the biggest benefits of introducing EVs to a business is the reduced refuelling costs, with electricity being far cheaper than fuel at the pump. Indeed, fuel costs can be as low as 2p per mile. For an annual mileage of around 10,000 miles per year, switching from a conventional to an electric car or van could save around £800 in fuel costs alone.
EVs are also a lot cheaper to maintain, mainly because they have a lot less moving parts than a conventional fossil-fuel powered car. For instance, there is relatively little servicing and no expensive exhaust systems, starter motors, fuel injection systems or radiators. Recent research has shown that several EV features can improve safety – EVs tend to have a lower centre of gravity that makes them less likely to roll over, for instance.
EV owners can gain additional monetary value from an EV through the implimentation of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, which provides demand-response services to the power grid. EVs can feed electricity into the grid when not in use through batteries during peak hours, and do most of their charging at night when there is unused generating capacity.
There are three main types of EVs. Hybrid EVs (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid EVs are both powered by petrol and electricity. The former generates energy through the car’s own braking system to recharge the battery, while the latter can recharge through any external source of electricity. Meanwhile, battery EVs (BEVs) are fully electric, meaning that the vehicle emits no emissions from the exhaust and does not contain the typical liquid fuel components, such as a fuel pump, fuel line, or fuel tank.
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Reference : https://www.wusf.org/environment/2022-09-25/how-green-are-electric-vehicles-well-that-depends
https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-renewable-energy
An electric vehicle (EV) is a mode of transport which is powered by electricity. Unlike conventional vehicles that use a gasoline (petrol) or diesel-powered engine, electric cars and trucks use an electric motor powered by electricity from batteries or a fuel cell. A key advantage of EVs over other forms of transport is that they hold the potential to significantly reduce pollution by having zero exhaust emissions.
EVs are generally more expensive to buy than their petrol or diesel equivalents for outright purchases. Battery technology is expensive, and because batteries in electric cars need to be able to hold vast amounts of charge to make the cars practical for most drivers, they have to be built using expensive materials, most of which are tough to procure.
EVs also often have long recharge times compared to the relatively fast process of refuelling a tank. While it takes a couple of minutes to fuel a petrol-powered car, an EV can take four to six hours to become fully charged (although this is now improving with the development of ‘rapid-charge’ systems).
Many EVs have a limited range due to the low energy density of batteries compared to the fuel of ICE vehicles. Most EVs have a relatively short driving range of between 100-150km. However, the ranges of electric cars are increasing as newer models hit the market. The next-gen Nissan Leaf is expected to be able to handle 300km on a single charge and the latest Tesla Model S has a range of 500km.
Batteries do wear out so replacement batteries will eventually be needed. Most car manufacturers warrant EV batteries for around eight years. But it should be noted that, when an EV battery reaches the end of its vehicle life, it may still have secondary value – by storing electricity from solar PV panels, for example.
The rise of EVs is yet to be matched at pace by charging infrastructure. In the UK, Uber has rolled out its own London-based charging initiative to combat a lack of charging systems in the city, but other new innovations are generally slow to arrive to the market.
