When It Comes to Vehicles,
The Future is Electric
There will be an estimated 145 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030. What will it take to get the power grid ready?
Climate change is one of the world's most pressing issues right now.
More and more, electric vehicles are being heralded as a well-defined way to help. In the past, vehicles have created about 29 percent of the United States' greenhouse gasses. Experts initially recommended alternatives like carpooling, driving less, and using public transportation—which are still great options whenever possible. Today, the auto industry is undergoing a major transformation, looking to EVs as a way to help address climate change.
%
of the United States' greenhouse gasses in the past have been created by customer use of vehicles.
EVs don't use gasoline, so they don't create any exhaust (or tailpipe emissions). Yet, driving them isn't completely without a footprint. How big that footprint is depends a lot on how the electricity they need to charge is generated. Batteries in EVs charge directly from the power grid, the network of power plants, facilities, and transmission lines that send electricity all over the country.
Until recently, nearly all the power in the U.S. came from fossil fuels, such as coal.
Over the last few decades, there has been an increase in solar power, wind power, and natural gas, which are much more sustainable energy options.
Renewable energy is growing across the country, with states like California, New York and Vermont leading the way. While electric vehicle operation can be beneficial in terms of reduced or eliminated tailpipe emissions the carbon footprint of each vehicle depends on the power grid where you charge.
As a result, increasing how much renewable energy powers our national grid is very connected to EVs being even more sustainable.
Then there's the charging infrastructure. EVs use charging stations instead of gas stations. The perceived lack of charging stations may inhibit some people from buying an EV. In fact, these vehicles can be charged with a standard 120-volt outlet, like most electronics. One company working hard to make EVs more practical and accessible to the general public is General Motors.
GM created Ultium Charge 360, an initiative that will help provide access to more than 100,000 public charging spots.
They're also working on making electric vehicle ownership possible for everyone (and adding home charging options), which can help encourage beneficial changes in both the power grid and infrastructure.
GM is looking to address current offsets in the environmental benefits of its supply chain as well, collaborating with companies like lithium supplier Controlled Thermal Resources to extract local, low-cost lithium using a closed-loop, direct extraction process with no production tailing. This process creates lower carbon dioxide emissions than traditional processes like pit mining or evaporation ponds. Battery life is improving, as well.
0,000,000 electric cars, buses, and vans by 2030.
There are about 10 million electric vehicles worldwide currently. The International Energy Agency predicts that there will be 145 million electric vehicles (including cars, buses, and vans) by 2030.
EVs are already the more sustainable driving choice, and increasing renewable energy throughout the country's power grids, expanding charging access, and improving mining components for batteries are critical to helping ensure EVs have an even greater impact for climate action. In time, EVs should be able to live up to their full potential as an important part of the efforts to address climate change.