31.5.2019. The current plan of the climate Cabinet, to extend the buyer’s premium for electric cars, and to increase partially, could help electric mobility to a breakthrough. Information on basic questions about the E-car is often lacking, and many misconceptions are circulating. The ADAC answers the most important questions.
Content
- 1. How environmentally friendly are electric cars?
- 2. There are enough raw materials?
- 3. Where is the power? Can break up the networks?
- 4. What to do with the drive batteries?
- 5. How high is the risk of fire is?
1. How environmentally friendly are electric cars?
Electric cars are “emissions free” because they generate, in contrast to the internal combustion engine has no direct emissions. However, emissions as well as pollutants produced in electricity production of CO2. Electric cars also have a “CO2 backpack”, which is significantly greater than that of cars with internal combustion engine. Cause: the energy-consuming production of the battery cells. In the driving operation of the electric car reduces the backpack – the cleaner the operating current and the higher the mileage, the faster.
2. There are enough raw materials?
According to the Öko-Institut e. V. u?our products shall exceed the Deposits of Lithium, cobalt, Nickel, graphite, and platinum demand significantly. Bottlenecks there might be, if the production sites are not developed in time. In addition, environmental and social problems need to be solved, for example, the issue of child labour in the Cobalt mining in the Congo.
3. Where is the power? Can break up the networks?
Based on the current Situation of the electricity market in Germany in the medium term, no major problems are to be expected. Because 10 million electric cars wu?would be an additional electricity demand of about 5.6 per cent mean. In addition, efficiency can compensate for increases and energy savings for lighting, as well as in buildings and industrial facilities, a part of the requirements of electric mobility. The risk of local network congestion increases with the number of electric vehicles. For this reason, a reporting requirement, a permit requirement was introduced for charging stations at home up to 11 kW. Thus, the operator can strengthen the network aimed to expand and in the future load operations coordinated through the night hours distribute.
4. What to do with the drive batteries?
Electric car batteries are special waste, such as small electrical appliances, waste oil, paints and much more from daily life. According to the battery act, battery manufacturers and dealers need to take this back and recycle. Technologically recycling procedures for Lithium-ion traction batteries are already available today. This can be obtained from the traction batteries up to 95 percent of the relevant functional materials, cobalt, Nickel, Lithium, and copper. Traction batteries, which are not for their use in the vehicle are no longer powerful enough, can be used in “second life” for many years as a stationary power storage.
5. How high is the risk of fire is?
Since the electrical components are intrinsically safe, can electric cars be in the normal operation is regarded as safe. (“First aid” is in the rule without increasing the personal risk involved) Which cases are these? Critical it can be, if the protective mechanisms are compromised for the battery, for example, by mechanical deformation as a result of a severe accident. Then, individual cells could overheat due to internal damage and the drive battery, as a result, catch fire. This risk is relatively low because the switches off the high voltage system after an accident, the Airbag is triggered.
Even more important questions and especially the answers about the topic of electric mobility there is in the current engine of the world and under adac.de/e-mythen
