2023-09-19 18:54:58
From 2035, new cars with a traditional combustion engine will no longer be sold in the Member States of the European Union. The production of electric cars will then be running at full speed. That is good and bad news for the planet, writes raw materials expert Theo Henckes in his book How many electric cars can the world handle? The raw materials challenge.
Are we making any progress with the transition to electric driving?
“Yes. Due to the transition from fossil fuels to batteries, greenhouse gases are no longer released while driving. That makes a difference, because transport is currently responsible for about a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. The positive effect of the transition to electric will be further enhanced as electricity production becomes more climate neutral. And if the production of electric cars takes place more with green energy. The combustion of fossil fuels is an irreversible process, while the metals in batteries can in principle be recycled endlessly.”
Which raw materials are there in short supply?
“The most important raw materials in this context are copper, nickel, cobalt, lithium and rare earth metals. With regard to the first two metals, the main concern is the threat of depletion in the longer term, and with regard to cobalt, lithium and rare earth metals, the focus will be on whether the increase in production of these metals will meet the increasing demand in connection with the energy transition, including electric cars. , can keep up.”
To what extent are electric cars responsible for this?
“By 2040, about 35 percent of global use of the rare earth metal dysprosium will go to electric cars, about 10 percent of global use of copper, about 40 percent of global use of lithium, 60 percent of global use of cobalt and 45 percent of global nickel use.”
How many electric cars can the world handle?
“We can continue this way for another century when it comes to the recoverable amount of copper and nickel in the earth’s crust. With a growing world population, there could be around 6.8 billion passenger cars. A century seems like a long period of time, but if measures are not taken in time, future generations will face major problems.”
Perhaps new reserves will be discovered.
“These are always found and I included that in my calculations. If you don’t take into account the discovery of new reserves, we would be in trouble within a few years.”
Does it still matter if car manufacturers switch to hydrogen as an energy source for electric motors?
“It is true that fewer scarce metals are needed in a hydrogen car than in an electric car. But for the time being, the hydrogen car will not find mass application. Hydrogen as a propulsion source is not nearly as energy efficient as the battery car, which makes driving a hydrogen car more expensive than a battery car. Secondly, there is insufficient hydrogen available for the time being. Thirdly, the production costs and maintenance of a hydrogen car are much higher than those of a battery car due to its complexity. In addition, it will be expensive to build the necessary infrastructure for hydrogen cars. It is therefore not surprising that car manufacturers have opted en masse for electric cars.”
Is there a solution to the impending shortage of metals?
“If the recycling of raw materials were greatly increased and the number of cars was reduced, this would make a big difference. Large-scale introduction of electric robot taxis would be a good way to limit private car ownership and thus save on raw materials.”
How many electric cars can the world handle? The raw materials challenge. Theo Henckens, publisher Brave New Books, 194 pages. € 18,-
Also read:
Chinese brands are entering the car market. Will we all soon be driving an Xpeng or a Hongqi?
The electrification of the vehicle fleet is an ideal time for China to conquer the car market.
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