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THE
FUTURE SHIFTFROM INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE TO
ELECTRIC CAR
AMIDST DEMAGOGY, HYPOTHESE, AND REALITY
By Andrea Roggero
Those wishing to understand if, and to what
extent, the shift from the traditional
combustion engine to hybrid and electric cars is
worthwhile should ask themselves one key
question: are electric cars actually much more
“eco-friendly” than petrol or diesel cars? And,
by extension: can electric cars truly represent
the future of individual mobility?
To
provide exhaustive answers to these questions,
let us start with some general remarks. First of
all, it might prove useful to clarify the exact
meaning of the term “eco-friendly”. From a
purely literal point of view, one of the most
fitting and all-encompassing definitions is:
“something that represents a safeguard for the
environment”.
In
order to determine whether they truly represent
a “safeguard” for the environment, each of the
options currently available should be analyzed
in terms of overall environmental footprint and
actual advantages compared to the other
solutions. Let us thus review the three main
types of propulsion that the various models now
on the market are identified by. These include
traditional cars with internal combustion engine,
hybrid cars (an intermediate solution
characterised by strong worldwide growth), and
plug-in electric cars, understood as having
exclusively electric propulsion.
It
is immediately evident that a truly
all-encompassing analysis cannot overlook the
global costs that each solution entails for the
users. Indeed, said costs automatically
translate into environmental costs, above all
when considered in terms of consumables and
their deterioration.
Let
us think, for instance, of the environmental
impact of each oil change, which no conventional
combustion engine, however modern and
sophisticated, can ever avoid. And what about
replacing the tyres and the environmental
implications of their disposal? So far, only
railway transport has managed to do away with
using tyres, and electric cars are no different.
As an over-generalisation, it is worth pointing
out that electric cars, and only electric cars,
require far less maintenance than combustion
engine automobiles, at least for what concerns
regular servicing and checks. On the other hand,
for the time being, electric cars have a far
from negligible impact on the environment, due
to the sheer cost of their battery packs for
energy storage as well as the environmental
consequences of their disposal.
Lastly, it should be acknowledged that electric
cars perform much better in the equation that
transform electric power into kinetic energy,
whereas the overall efficiency of combustion
engines in transforming fossil fuel into kinetic
energy still remains a few percentage points
lower (due to the portion of heat energy that is
wasted).
The
worst-performing vehicles in terms of costs are
the so-called hybrid cars (combining combustion
engine and electric motor), whose limitations
and environmental drawbacks are comparable to
those of conventional vehicles with combustion
engine propulsion only. This combines with the
cost of disposal of the energy storage pack,
which is similar – though not exactly the same,
due to differences in size – to that of electric
vehicles. In this case too, the electric
component certainly contributes to increasing by
a few percentage points the car’s overall energy
efficiency for what concerns the transformation
into kinetic energy.
Now,
then, by simplifying further, we may equate the
time of deterioration of a car propelled by a
combustion engine to that of a car powered by an
electric motor (i.e. around 20 years and/or
around 500,000 km) to draw a general
“environmental cost” comparison. Also in this
case, due to the reasons mentioned above, hybrid
cars would undoubtedly fall short.
Another key element to consider is that of the
so-called “exhaust emissions” which are a major
drawback of traditional cars compared to
electric cars (by definition, zero-emission
vehicles with much higher overall energy
efficiency), whereas hybrid solutions hold an
intermediate position, though closer to that of
traditional automobiles.
When
we broaden our horizons and consider how the
energy needed to operate an exclusively electric
car is produced, this additional “external”
factor becomes utterly crucial and runs the risk
of being affected by demagogy.
The
most virtuous model currently available, i.e.,
the “Tesla” + “SolarCity” combination, for now
present only on the US market, is: “an electric
car that is recharged thanks to the energy
produced by a photovoltaic system installed on
the roof of your home”. If we consider this
option, the environmental equation takes on a
new meaning and becomes self-legitimised.
Conversely, if that same energy is produced by a
coal power plant, the equation completely loses
its meaning and legitimisation. Furthermore,
some may object that the abovementioned “Tesla +
SolarCity” combination cannot be extended to the
majority of the world population since, from a
practical and realistic standpoint, only a small
portion of those living on our planet have an
independent house equipped with a solar panel
system.
It
becomes evident that the central element is not
so much to understand how a specific car model
and its propulsion system work, but rather how
the energy powering it is produced.
Simply put, a traditional (combustion engine)
automobile refers to a now obsolete
environmental model that ought to be overcome.
Nonetheless, to be truly credible, the electric
model destined to replace it must inevitably
refer to a radically new and updated system
regarding the ways in which the energy
propelling it is produced. Without this
indispensable logical but, above all, practical
step, electric cars too run the risk of becoming
a mere demagogical tool doomed to failure, just
like hybrid cars, since overall efficiency is
indeed increased but the root problem is neither
addressed nor solved.
Lastly, according to the most reliable estimates
– and speaking in purely theoretical terms –, if
we were to replace the car fleet now on the
roads with exclusively electric vehicles, based
on the level of technology available at present,
the worldwide energy demand would easily
increase tenfold.
Therefore, we would not only fail to alleviate
or solve the problem, but we would actually
cause a dramatic rise in the need for electric
power, from the current levels to amounts in
excess of ten times more. As a direct
consequence, emissions and pollution would spike
proportionally.
It
is clear that any reflection on sustainable
mobility, aiming to achieve tangible
environmental results, cannot ignore the scope
of energy development, i.e., the energy model to
which it refers.
Looking again at the “Tesla” phenomenon, it is
particularly interesting to note that, in the
worldwide automotive sector, a sort of “fox
hunt” has been unleashed, in which the
lightning-fast and clever fox is represented by
Elon Musk’s company and the innovative products
that it incessantly develops. However, besides
the vehicles produced, the real innovation
resides in the model that Musk is creating
through collaborations among the companies in
his group, from the production of clean energy
to the way in which it is used on the roads,
with consequent optimisation of overall costs,
values, efficiency, and environmental impact.
In
years to come, this trend, which is already
occurring in the most advanced countries, will
represent one of the most radical innovations
and a true break with the past. The ensuing
model for sustainable mobility will have mankind
at its core and revolve around three main
aspects:
1.
Architecture 2.
Mankind 3. Mobility
Let
us make a brief digression and turn to our
distant past. As far back as in Ancient Rome,
the Latin people understood the importance of
the autonomy and self-sustainability of their
houses, i.e., “domus”, including the use and
storage of rainwater within them. Each domus was
built around an impluvium, directly connected to
underground reservoirs used to collect
rainwater. The water was not only drunk by the
residents but also served the purpose of
irrigating gardens, orchards, and vegetable
patches, thus representing an integral and
essential part of the virtuous and autonomous
Roman housing system.
The
concept of “domus” has since then evolved into
the modern “farm”, but the underlying system has
remained fundamentally unchanged until our
modern times. From now on, and above all thanks
to the development and diffusion of electric
cars, the concept of house will have to evolve
further from a “facility for the protection and
support of its inhabitants” to a more modern and
broader idea of “basic and autonomous cell for
environmental and energy sustainability”. This
will be achieved by developing the concept of
energy self-sustainability of buildings,
especially if we consider the far from
negligible environmental impact that buildings
have when they need to be heated during the
winter months, greatly contributing to air
pollution in cities.
In
view of the limited sustainability of electric
mobility achieved so far, mostly due to the
scarce availability of clean energy, at ECR
Technologies we have taken on an approach that
is as forward-looking and proactive as possible.
A comprehensive view of the current energy
system is our starting point, and we are working
towards evolving and developing it in order to
make it more efficient thanks to new ideas. By
implementing several projects, ECR Technologies
strives to put in place the first piece of the
virtuous system given by the three key
components to attain energy self-sustainability:
production + storage + consumption of electric
power (the last one of which also for mobility
purposes). Working on these principles, we can
anticipate the future by making any type of
building or real estate unit autonomous in
energy terms, be it for residential, commercial
or industrial use. This is achieved by means of
a system linking technical and economic sectors
that have so far remained separated. Our
ultimate goal is to implement in practical terms
an economic and eco-friendly vision able to
bring together in a synergetic way mankind,
machines, and the environment.
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