24 June ELECTRIC VEHICLES: TRULY SUSTAINABLE?

Bonus / penalty, meteoric rise in fuel prices, awareness of the carbon footprint: so many factors that position the ecological question at the heart of the concerns of car manufacturers. This explains the current craze around electric cars.

Nevertheless, according to a study carried out by ADEME, if we take into account the entire life cycle of an electric vehicle, its energy consumption is globally close to that of a diesel vehicle.

But what really to think of this type of vehicle, producing neither greenhouse gases nor pollutants, today considered the most virtuous automobile? 

Focus on the composition of electric vehicles

In theory, an electric car can travel more than a million kilometers without requiring major maintenance, unlike thermal models where engine oil and parts have to be replaced regularly. Without taking into account the energy used during its life cycle, the electric vehicle has a lower impact on the environment and costs less to maintain than a conventional vehicle. So far so good.

However, when one is interested in the composition of an electric car, it is above all the battery that poses a problem.

Since the invention of the rechargeable lead-acid battery used for the first electric vehicles, battery technologies have come a long way! Today, the lithium-ion battery has established itself as the reference technology in the world of transport because it makes it possible to exceed 200 km/h.

In lithium-ion batteries, there are metals (lithium, cobalt, manganese, copper, etc.) as well as materials that are certainly recoverable, but also dangerous and polluting. In addition, two-thirds of metal resources come from countries such as Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and China. In summary, the manufacturing process of this type of battery results in significant toxic releases.

Finally, made up of potentially dangerous components, it is impossible to dispose of defective batteries in nature. This is where recycling comes in.

Recycling lithium-ion batteries

Since 2006, in Europe, directive 2006/66/EC requires the recycling of at least 50% of the materials contained in batteries. The producer therefore has the obligation to collect the used batteries at his expense, before recycling them either by his own means or by having recourse to a specialized partner. For example, the French company SNAM which declares to recycle more than 70% of a lithium-ion battery. Note that Europe is ahead on this point compared to other continents such as the United States where battery recycling is mandatory in only 3 states.

The recycling process varies by battery technology. Being the favorite ally of electric vehicles, we will therefore focus on the lithium-ion battery.

The technique used is hydrometallurgy which makes it possible, once the vehicle has been dismantled, to: dissociate each of the metals, purify them and restore them to a solid state in order to reuse them in industrial processes. This method remains complicated, expensive and energy-intensive, but it gives a second life to the battery if it is not damaged.

Conclusion on the environmental balance of the electric car

In conclusion, in the best case, almost 70% of the battery is recycled. A figure which clearly handicaps the environmental balance sheet of the electric car but which remains above all vague, in particular due to the lack of hindsight on this type of vehicle. Indeed, most electric models are currently in circulation and the reprocessing centers are, to date, not numerous enough in France.

If nearly 700 tonnes of batteries will have to be recycled in 000, we can only hope that researchers and scientists will optimize existing recycling techniques and develop battery technologies that are more economical, more powerful and less polluting.

So is the electric car really a clean vehicle? The life cycle of the electric car is not 100% ecological, it is impossible for us to answer yes to this question. However, this type of vehicle has considerable advantages for the environment: no CO2 or particle emissions during operation, no noise in urban areas, etc. Due to better environmental performance, electric models are therefore more virtuous. than thermal vehicles.