Yes, electric vehicles and their batteries come with environmental drawbacks - but that is not a reason to go slow on electrifying our vehicle fleet, argues Buddhika Rajapakse
There’s a lot to like in Professor Alan Brent’s article, ‘The problem with switching to EVs’, especially the recognition of New Zealand’s world-leading renewable electricity as key to enabling our decarbonisation ambitions via transport electrification. But there is danger in mistaking a speed bump for a roadblock.
Seeing the debate shift to how best to facilitate EV uptake shows the widespread acknowledgement that e-transport is one of New Zealand’s best shots to achieve its net zero aspirations, as endorsed by the Climate Change Commission.
What is also clear is the need for decisive action now towards electrifying our vehicle fleets. The whole-of-system view Professor Brent rightly points out we need must also be developed as we embark on this transition, but can be done so in tandem.
System-wide incentives and legislation are necessary to ensure we efficiently repurpose end-of-life EV batteries into “second life” applications before recycling. This will also require a shift in mindset to ‘use, reuse and reuse again’ before recycling comes into play, only once the batteries are no longer viable for practical applications.
Although New Zealand does not yet have specific regulations in place to ensure the “circularity” of the EV battery economy in this manner, there is good work being done. The Battery Industry Group (B.I.G.) is currently designing a circular product stewardship scheme for large batteries to be put before the Ministry for the Environment. The B.I.G. consists of over 170 businesses across the energy, waste, transport and battery sectors.
Meanwhile, there are others working on “second life” battery applications already. For example, Counties Power is repurposing Nissan LEAF batteries to support its electricity distribution network.
In the spirit of a system-wide perspective I would offer one additional viewpoint on the topic of resource extraction, and the associated environmental, ethical, social and legal implications. Yes, it is a challenge for EVs given their reliance on key mineral resources and this shouldn’t be understated.
But we can’t ignore the well-documented externalities associated with the sheer scale of global fossil fuel extraction, beyond just the carbon emissions pumped into the atmosphere through combustion. A recent European study shows that over its lifetime, an ICE car burns circa 17,000 litres of petrol, which would be equivalent to a stack of oil barrels 90 metres high. This is around 300 to 400 times more than the weight of EV battery cell metals not recoverable through recycling.
EV battery technology is also rapidly evolving, in contrast to the “mature” oil and gas sector. Manufacturers like Panasonic are already designing low-cobalt and cobalt-free batteries. Research suggests that the amount of lithium required for a unit of battery storage could halve over the next decade as chemistries improve, with improvements also possible for other battery materials.
These are all reasons to remain hopeful that wider sustainability needs are not lost in our pursuit of a zero-carbon future.
