Analyzing the Environmental Sustainability of Using and Manufacturing Electric Vehicles

Abstract

In the past five years, the demand for electric cars has increased tremendously, and it is expected to increase further in the next ten years. Electric cars (EC’s) play a vital role in future mobility scenarios. It becomes crucial to assess their environmental impacts. This paper will be reviewing and collecting data from different academic sources to examine the ecological impact of the production of electric cars. Even though EC’s do not emit CO2, their batteries do use lithium. Improper lithium disposal can lead to contamination of water and soil. Lithium can cause landfill fires and release toxic chemicals that negatively affect our breathing, and further contribute to global warming. It doesn’t stop there, lithium demand is expected to increase more than 300 per cent over the next five years, and this number is largely driven by the growth in the production of EC’s. Apart from lithium, many other raw materials are used in the production of the battery, such as Rare Earth Element (REEs), which could lead to many environmental consequences due to mining, etc. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of increasing production of EC’s keeping in mind the latest advances in electric car technology. This paper will further explore possible solutions to make electric cars a feasible alternative to ICEVs.