This is a partly automated translation of this german article by dpa.
New VDI study: At what mileage is a battery-electric vehicle more environmentally friendly than a model with a combustion engine?
VDI Investigates Sustainability of Electric Cars
Eisenhans / stock.adobe.com
According to a study, the use of an electric car is only more climate-friendly than that of a combustion engine car after it has accumulated 65,000 kilometers. This assumes that the vehicle is charged with green electricity. If, on the other hand, it is charged with the usual energy mix, i.e. also with coal-fired electricity, this threshold rises to at least 90,000 kilometers, according to a study published in Düsseldorf by the VDI – The Association of German Engineers.
One reason for this is that greenhouse gases are produced during the extraction of raw materials, the production of batteries and delivery from Asia. "E-cars and hybrid vehicles start with an environmental burden due to the resource-intensive production of the drive technology, as battery production nowadays takes place almost exclusively in Asia," said Joachim Damasky, Chairman of the Association. "In the long term, e-cars and hybrid-powered vehicles will then prevail in the ecological balance."
Green Production of Batteries Necessary
He emphasized that the recycling of the raw materials lithium, nickel and cobalt must be improved in electromobility: "A lot still needs to happen here in Germany." In order to make progress towards more climate-friendly mobility, progress must be made in the expansion of green energies and the development of battery production that is less harmful to the climate. Only the green production of the battery and its primary materials will reduce the ecological footprint "and make e-mobility truly climate-friendly".
(dpa)