Research for TRAN Committee - Battery-powered electric vehicles: market development and lifecycle emissions
As 2018 gets under way, there are probably more than three million electric cars in circulation in the world. There are also more than six hundred million electric bikes, scooters and motorcycles. Plus a few hundred thousand electric buses and other types of quadricycles having an electric motor. The first part of this paper traces the fast evolving market of electric road vehicles. The second part shows that the production of hundreds of millions of battery packs requires a lot of energy and plenty of scarce resources, which affects the real impact of electric vehicles on the climate and the environment and make it necessary to consider the recovery and recycling of used batteries.
Study
External author
Linda Ager-Wick ELLINGSEN, Christine Roxanne HUNG
About this document
Publication type
Policy area
Keyword
- coal and mining industries
- deterioration of the environment
- economic analysis
- ECONOMICS
- electric vehicle
- electrical and nuclear industries
- electrical energy
- ENERGY
- energy efficiency
- energy policy
- ENVIRONMENT
- environmental impact
- environmental policy
- EU statistics
- hazardous waste
- mining extraction
- mode of transport
- organisation of transport
- PRODUCTION, TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH
- recycling technology
- reduction of gas emissions
- sustainable mobility
- technology and technical regulations
- TRANSPORT
- transport infrastructure
- transport policy
- waste recycling