World gears up for electric cars despite bumps in road

TECHNOLOGICAL advances mean fossil fuel in cars could be phased out within decades but switching to electric carries its own environmental and economic concerns as more and more countries announce radical plans.

Britain last week said it would “end the sale of all conventional petrol and diesel cars” by 2040, following similar proposals by France earlier this month to reduce nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution.

China issued plans last year requiring that 12% of cars sold be battery-powered or plug-in hybrids by 2020, while India has said it wants to replace all vehicles with electric vehicles by 2030.

Norway hopes to end sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2025, and other countries such as Sweden and Denmark and Finland have expressed similar ambitions to phase out fossil fuel engines.

“Given the rate of improvement in battery and electric vehicle technology over the last ten years, by 2040 small combustion engines in private cars could well have disappeared without any government intervention,” said Alastair Lewis, professor of atmospheric chemistry at the University of York.

“Nonetheless this is highly symbolic since it signals to both the public and to manufacturers that there is no turning back from electrification.”

Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management (CAM), said that last year proved to be a “tipping point”, shifting political will into concrete commitments.

He highlighted the emissions scandal, where manufacturers of mainly diesel cars were found to have cheated on environmental tests.

Local and national environmental targets and the progress made by China in developing electric cars are also forces propelling the move away from hydrocarbons. make them viable.

“But in reality, there are many other fuels, such as gas, hydrogen, and manufacturers are investing heavily in the self-drive car,” he added.

Cost is also an issue, with electric cars currently selling for thousands of dollars more than their fossil-fuelled counterparts.

The fashion for diesel cars in Britain was fuelled by government incentives to reduce carbon emissions, but only worsened NO2 levels on a more local level. million vehicles registered in Britain.

A study last month by IVL, the Swedish Environment Institute, found that production of a large battery currently results in the emission of up to 17.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide, equivalent to around 700 hours of driving in a standard car.

Another stumbling block could be the vast infrastructure costs associated with providing recharge points on public highways, although Britain’s plan promises to install charge points at motorway service areas and large fuel retailers.

British car manufacturing lobby group the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) also warned that an outright ban “risked undermining the current market for new cars”, pointing out that the sector employed 800,000 workers.

But for now, the momentum appears to be strong, particularly if oil prices rise again.

CAM predicts that new registrations of electric cars in the world will increase by between 2.5 and 6% by 2020. “A big offensive by manufacturers” would then lead to a 40% increase by 2030. – AFP Relaxnews