The sustainability of Electric Vehicles

The innovation of electric vehicles is one of the important factors that effects on sustainability.  Electric vehicles are usually referring to electric cars, which are becoming more exposed to the public. Tesla is one of the leading companies of electric vehicles. As electric vehicles become more popular and the benefits are clearly demonstrated, however, the resistance on social and energy efficiency aspect.

China as a developing country with large population, a number of vehicles operated are high. A large amount of the vehicles causes pollution in many cities in China. Electric vehicles would provide a solution for the issues, however, the sales of electric vehicles only contain 0.3% of the total sales of automobile vehicle in 2014. The main reason is due to the expensive cost of electric vehicles (AIP, 2016). Yu Hao, a researcher in Beijing institute of Technology stated that China has the responsibility to reduce the pollution for fossil consumption. The research team points out that NEV industry in China should be encouraged to invest into research and development while the government should encourage citizen to raise the attention on the environment and sustainable development (AIP, 2016).

The effectiveness of electric vehicles is questioned. A common debatable topic would be the efficiency of the electricity vs fossil fuels. The energy efficiency of electric cars is usually questioned since electricity is generated from coal. The Norwegian University of Science and Technology has conducted a research on the environmental costs of the electric vehicles to determine the ‘cradle to a grave environmental footprint of operating these vehicles.’ The researchers propose a model with nanomaterials for batteries or fuel cells as a guide for the developers. The researchers aim to create a group of vehicles that have highest environmental sustainability (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2016).

I think that it is important for the government to identify and resolve issues on social sustainability. Social factors have high influences on sustainability, therefore, it would be important for China to promote the idea of environmental sustainability and establish clauses, regulations or policies in order to achieve sustainable development in the future. I think that electric vehicles would have to go through more innovation in order to achieve better environmental sustainability. These could be achieved by more sustainable materials or designs in the development of the vehicle.

Norwegian University of Science and Technology (2016, Dec 16), Keeping electric car design on the right road: Closer look at the life-cycle impacts of lithium-ion batteries, proton exchange membrane fuel cells. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161208125844.htm (accessed April 25, 2017).

American Institute of Physics (AIP) (2016, Nov 16), What factors are influencing electric vehicle purchases in China?, ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161115111651.htm (accessed April 25, 2017).