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The world was up in flames just last month after delegates chose to use private jets as their preferred mode of transport to attend the COP27, ironically the world's most prominent climate conference. Nearly 400 planes allegedly landed in Egypt during the first week of November — an act that could produce six times more emissions than travel via commercial aeroplanes.<br /><br />Despite the lousy rep flying gets for generating excessive greenhouse emissions, it is necessary for development. Let's face it, unless we develop some Aquaman-like powers to ship containers over the ocean, development will start bottlenecking worldwide. However, there is a solution to this, too: Sustainable Aviation Fuels (<keyword id="7015931" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="saf" source="Orion">SAF</keyword>).<br /><br />SAF are biofuels made from waste materials and other sustainable feedstock. These help cut emissions by as much as 80% compared to traditional jet fuels — and this is just the beginning!<br /><br />SAF technology has also been evolving at breakneck speeds over the past few years. Most recently, researchers from the <keyword id="1027046" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="worcester-polytechnic-institute" source="Orion">Worcester Polytechnic Institute</keyword> have developed a unique type of SAF that will literally pull CO2 out of the air to add wind under the plane's wings.<br /><br />This fuel uses magnesium hydride, whose main minerals are much easier to source due to its abundance on Earth. In addition, this SAF enables long-range flights — something most SAF struggle with.<br /><br />The SAF revolution has begun in India as well. <keyword id="43706" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="honeywell" source="Orion">Honeywell</keyword>, a company with significant Indian presence, has managed to invent an ethanol-to-jet fuel processing technology that converts corn-based, cellulosic, or sugar-based ethanol into SAFs. The company claims this fuel will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80%, and its modular property can enable rapid installation to speed up the transition process even more.<br /><br />However, only about 0.01% of global <keyword id="59783" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jet-fuel" source="Orion">jet fuel</keyword> use has been replaced by SAF so far, which forms a significant energy transition bottleneck. India has taken many steps in this regard towards accelerating this transformation. For example, the International Air Transport Association — representing more than 83% of total air traffic — has estimated that SAF could account for up to 65% of total emission reductions by 2050. <br /><br />Considering aviation accounts for about 2.5% of global greenhouse emissions (and growing), according to the International Council on Clean Transportation (<keyword id="839908" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="icct" source="Orion">ICCT</keyword>), this is, no doubt, the right time to turn over a greener wing.<br /><br /><h2>Recommended stories:<br /></h2><br />      <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="95901847" title="Global fossil fuel use to skyrocket before falling drastically over next decade; India to reach 2030 emission targets easily: report" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"><payload><![CDATA[seealso]]></payload></div><br />      <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="95857282" title="Mumbai, Delhi ranked lowest among 6o global cities for public transit systems" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"><payload><![CDATA[seealso]]></payload></div><br />

New Indian sustainable jet fuel technology could cut aviation emissions by 80%

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Regulators want to slash the number of short-haul flights to reduce aviation's carbon emissions.</li><li>But experts told BI recent regulations might only have a small impact on reducing emissions.</li><li>Shifting to greener fuels and enhancing green tech are essential for cleaner air travel.</li></ul><p>To reduce carbon emissions and boost sustainability in the aviation industry, some governments and air-travel regulators are looking to ban or severely limit the number of short-haul flights.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Air travel is a dirty business: While the industry <a target="_blank" href="https://www.iea.org/energy-system/transport/aviation">produces about 2%</a> of global energy-related carbon emissions, a plane trip produces <a target="_blank" href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/how-much-does-air-travel-warm-the-planet-new-study-gives-a-figure/">100 times more carbon dioxide per hour</a> than a train or bus ride. And short-haul flights, or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.eurocontrol.int/publication/eurocontrol-data-snapshot-co2-emissions-flight-distance">routes of 932 miles or less</a>, produce a disproportionate amount of carbon output. A report from the International Council on Clean Transportation, or ICCT, found that short-haul flights made up <a target="_blank" href="https://theicct.org/not-every-tonne-of-aviation-co2-is-created-equal/">a third of all global aviation emissions</a> in 2018.</p><p>But experts say bans alone won't significantly impact carbon emissions. Instead, reducing the number of short-haul flights, experimenting with new technologies, and investing in environmentally friendly travel alternatives may go further in reducing the aerospace industry's carbon footprint.</p><h2>Regulations on short-haul flights aren't yet having the desired effect on emissions</h2><p>Denmark announced last year that by 2025, Danes will be able to fly domestically on a "completely green route," meaning that at least one domestic flight would be carbon-free and that all domestic flights would be fossil-fuel-free by 2030. The move makes Denmark one of the first countries to signal publicly for stronger aviation-sustainability policies.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The Danish government also <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/denmark-proposes-14-green-passenger-tax-air-travel-2023-11-09/">announced a "green tax</a>" on passengers starting in 2025 to finance the country's green domestic route. The tax, converted from Danish krone, amounts to $9 for flights within Europe, $35 for medium-distance flights, and $56 for long-haul flights.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Similarly, earlier this year, the French government enacted a law banning any flights within the country that a train ride of 2-and-½ hours or less could replace.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The law initially seemed like a big win for climate activists, but the number of exceptions for international travel meant the law only impacted three routes between Paris-Orly Airport and the cities of Nantes, Bordeaux, and Lyon.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/summer-flight-cancellations-airlines-partner-with-buses-trains-2022-5">France's hyper-connected railway</a> allows passengers to move between cities without changing travel patterns. Since high-speed trains already connect the impacted flight routes, potentially limiting the law's effects, the country's aviation industry isn't likely to see any big changes to its carbon footprint.</p><p class="MsoNormal">"In terms of absolute emissions reduction, it's not going to do too much," Sola Zheng, a researcher on the ICCT aviation program team, told Business Insider. "But it's a very good precedent that governments are willing to pull these kinds of levers."</p><div type="image" title="Headshot of Sola Zheng, wearing a white blouse in front of greenery." height="1365" width="1365" msid="106002081" hostid="261" sizebytes="61600"></div><p>But banning short-haul flights doesn't solve the industry's carbon-footprint problem, Giulio Mattioli, a transportation researcher at the Technical University of Dortmund in Germany, said. He told BI that banning these routes would have minimal environmental effects unless regulations <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-innovation-not-only-solution-to-climate-crisis-2023-7">address the industry holistically.</a></p><p class="MsoNormal">"Maybe ban short-haul flights, but then don't expect that to solve the problem," he said. "We need to talk about the long-haul flights as well."</p><h2>Other strategies could curb the industry's emissions</h2><p>The solution to the industry's emissions problem, Mattioli said, can be divided into a three-part strategy: avoid, shift, and improve. Avoiding would mean curbing the amount of flying we already do, or at least maintaining the same level of travel without increasing it; shifting would mean moving toward methods of travel, such as trains or buses, that create less pollution; and improving would mean enhancing sustainable aviation technology.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Mattioli told BI these strategies are all complementary, so the aviation industry must implement them simultaneously.</p><p class="MsoNormal">"It's only if we do those three things at the same time we have a chance of reducing emissions at the rate at which we should," Mattioli said.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Zheng said one emerging aviation technology that could make a difference is alternative power sources, such as hydrogen or electricity. Shorter flights are great candidates to test these advancements since electric and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aviation-industry-net-zero-by-2050-disagree-decarbonization-2023-12">hydrogen-powered planes</a> are often distance-constrained due to battery density and fueling needs. Because short-haul flights don't have to travel very far, the aviation industry won't have to change many flight patterns to test alternative power sources.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aviation-sustainable-fuel-saf-production-challenge-decarbonization-zero-emissions-planes-2023-1">Sustainable aviation fuels</a> have also recently gained industry attention because they're largely made of waste materials or renewable biomass. While aircraft could theoretically use these materials for longer flights, supply problems make their use as primary fuel unrealistic for the near future.</p><p>"You want to develop these other solutions for the shorter ones, so you can decarbonize both at the same rate," Zheng said.</p><h2>Passengers can help reduce emissions, too</h2><p>Flying continues to be a priority for travelers. A report from the International Civil Aviation Organization found that demand for air travel is expected to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.icao.int/Meetings/FutureOfAviation/Pages/default.aspx#:~:text=The%20most%20recent%20estimates%20suggest,GDP%20to%20the%20world%20economy.">grow by about 4.3% a year over the next 20 years</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal">But Zheng said passengers are interested in making their <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/eco-friendly-travel-sustainability-expert-tips-2023-4">travel greener</a> and are willing to take steps to accomplish that goal. A Booking.com survey found that <a target="_blank" href="https://globalnews.booking.com/download/31767dc7-3d6a-4108-9900-ab5d11e0a808/booking.com-sustainable-travel-report2023.pdf">76% of surveyed passengers</a> want to make their travel more sustainable over the next year, and 43% of surveyed passengers are willing to pay more for it.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Zheng recommended flying on newer aircraft or booking an economy seat. Flights that dedicate more seats to standard seating can fit more people, reducing each passenger's carbon footprint.</p><p class="MsoNormal">"We have to experiment," she said. "There's never going to be a silver bullet."</p>

Short-haul flights are the first target for sustainable aviation — but aerospace experts say banning them probably won't make the difference

<ul class="summary-list"><li>There's a persistent myth that electric vehicles are somehow worse for the planet than regular cars. </li><li>Studies show that EVs produce significantly fewer emissions over their lifetimes than combustion engines. </li></ul><p><a href="https://nypost.com/2022/11/08/face-it-electric-cars-dont-do-much-of-anything-for-the-environment/?sp_amp_linker=1*5mlft0*amp_id*YW1Qc08zYkZpamFWXzJTaUJqeXRWcVdvVWdxTzl1cHVBanp6VVFOejlSSlVZZDhZeFdpR1pQMVJyRmw5Y201VQ..">Conservative pundits</a> and other skeptics love to claim that electric cars are just as bad for the planet as regular old combustion engines, if not worse. After all, Teslas fill up on electricity generated by dirty power plants, and mining the materials for their batteries takes a huge toll on the environment, so the argument goes. </p><p>But the science tells a different story. </p><p>Studies comparing lifetime emissions of electric and gas-powered cars — from manufacturing through disposal — show that, by and large, driving a battery-powered vehicle is a massive win for the environment. That conclusion holds even when you consider that most electricity in the US currently comes from carbon-producing coal and natural gas and that making an EV isn't exactly a clean process. </p><h2><strong>Building an EV isn't great for the planet</strong></h2><p>Lithium-ion batteries are central to EVs themselves and to the auto industry's broader electric reinvention. But mining the necessary cobalt, refining the lithium, and packaging it all into little cells that fit neatly in a larger pack creates significant greenhouse gas emissions.</p><p>That means, perhaps counterintuitively, that "green" cars begin life with a heftier carbon footprint than their "dirty" counterparts. A medium-sized electric car leaves the factory responsible for 33%-57% greater emissions than a comparable internal combustion engine (ICE) one, the <a href="https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/comparative-life-cycle-greenhouse-gas-emissions-of-a-mid-size-bev-and-ice-vehicle">International Energy Agency says</a>. </p><p>But since EVs are <a href="https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/electric_emissions.html">significantly cleaner to operate</a>, their environmental debt goes away relatively quickly once they hit the road.</p><p>(Battery manufacturing, particularly mining, can have other <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lithium-batteries-environment-impact">damaging environmental impacts</a>, but we're sticking to greenhouse gases here. Transportation <a href="https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/fast-facts-transportation-greenhouse-gas-emissions">creates 27% of the country's climate-changing emissions</a>, and cars and trucks account for most of that.)</p><h2><strong>EVs are still cleaner overall</strong></h2><p>The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/driving-cleaner-report.pdf">analyzed</a> how much pollution an electric car with average efficiency and a 300-mile range would generate over its lifetime if it charged using the 2020 US electrical grid, which was far from 100% renewable. It found that trading in a conventional, 32-mpg sedan for an electric one would slash greenhouse-gas emissions by 52%. </p><p>"While there are emissions from making and using electric vehicles, when you take into account all the factors they are much, much cleaner than a gasoline vehicle," David Reichmuth, a senior engineer at the UCS, told Insider. "They're not perfect. They're just much, much better."</p><p>The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) estimates that a medium-sized EV registered in the US in 2021 will <a href="https://theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/Global-LCA-passenger-cars-jul2021_0.pdf">pollute 60-68% less over its life</a> than a comparable model burning fossil fuels. Its analysis assumed that EVs will use increasingly clean electricity over time. </p><p>The wide gap in emissions is in part a matter of efficiency. While a combustion engine loses 70% of the energy you feed it to heat, leaving only 30% for forward motion, electric motors exhibit 90% energy efficiency, Georg Bieker, a researcher at the ICCT, told Insider. </p><p>So how long does it take for an EV to shed the baggage of manufacturing and become cleaner than an ICE vehicle? Not all that long, actually. </p><p>The UCS's analysis puts the tipping point at 21,300 miles (for the aforementioned electric car and sedan), less than two years of driving for the typical American. A recent Ford-funded <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac7cfc/pdf">University of Michigan study</a> drew a similar conclusion: 1.4–1.5 years for sedans, 1.6 years for pickup trucks, and 1.6–1.9 years for SUVs. </p><h2><strong>Where your energy comes from matters</strong></h2><p>Although non-renewable energy sources (excluding nuclear) <a href="https://www.epa.gov/egrid/power-profiler#/">account for 60.9%</a> of the US's electricity generation, most Americans are in good shape to benefit the environment by going electric. </p><p>Per the UCS, more than 90% of the US population lives in an area where driving the average EV yields lower emissions than a 59-mpg ICE vehicle, the most fuel-efficient one available. Based on where electric cars have been sold historically, the average EV on US roads today is roughly as polluting as a theoretical 91-mpg gas car, the organization estimates.</p><p>But zooming in on specific regions reveals how vastly EV emissions vary across the country. In upstate New York, where three-quarters of power comes from nuclear or renewable sources, the only way to match an average EV's emissions would be to buy a 247-mpg ICE vehicle. In parts of Hawaii that rely heavily on oil the magic number is 37 mpg. </p><h2><strong>EVs will get a lot cleaner over time; ICE cars won't</strong></h2><p>Crucially, EVs' environmental impact will shrink over time as renewables like solar and wind claim a growing share of the country's electricity use. And this trend is already well underway. </p><p>Electric cars that hit American roads in 2030 could have a 76% greener lifespan than gas counterparts if the US builds an electrical grid in line with the Paris Agreement's goals, according to the ICCT. The UCS reckons that in a future America powered by 95% renewable energy sources, an EV will pollute as much as an ICE vehicle rated at an astronomical 500 mpg. That is to say, very little. </p><p>"As we clean up the grid, that's going to make these vehicles have even lower emissions as they're driven over the next 10, 15, or 20 years," Reichmuth said. "I think that's the really important part."</p>

Yes, electric vehicles are greener than gas cars — even when they use dirty power

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A study found that in the US electric <keyword id="20632" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Cars">cars</keyword> produce 60% to 68% fewer emissions than gas-powered ones.</li><li>EVs quickly recoup their higher manufacturing emissions and are more sustainable than traditional cars.</li><li>The study says lawmakers must shift from combustion engines to avoid the worst impacts of <keyword id="6361617" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="climate-change">climate change</keyword>.</li></ul><p>No, electric vehicles do not produce more greenhouse gas emissions throughout their life cycle than a gas-powered car - whether through digging up the metals to create the car's battery, manufacturing the vehicle, or disposing of it.</p><p>A <a href="https://theicct.org/publications/global-LCA-passenger-cars-jul2021">new study</a> debunks a common theory that was used to argue against innovators like <keyword id="107096" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tesla">Tesla</keyword> CEO <keyword id="6355315" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="elon-musk">Elon Musk</keyword> regarding the sustainability of electric cars. The popular myth falsely claims that an <keyword id="186291" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="EV">EV</keyword>'s manufacturing processes, plus the energy that is produced to power the cars, makes the vehicles not much cleaner than a car with a combustion engine.</p><p>The study, performed by The International Council on Clean <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="transportation">Transportation</keyword> (ICCT) and published Wednesday<strong>,</strong> found that throughout its life cycle an <keyword id="46640" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="electric-car">electric car</keyword> consistently releases fewer greenhouse gases.</p><p>Furthermore, EVs release less carbon dioxide than a gas-powered car no matter where it is plugged in - whether its a power grid that receives renewable energy or a grid that relies heavily on more dirty power sources like coal.</p><p>During its lifetime, an EV in the US releases about 60% to 68% fewer carbon emissions than a traditional vehicle. Even in China and India - countries that rely heavily on coal-power - electric cars produce between 37% to 45% and 19% to 34% fewer greenhouse gases, respectively.</p><p>The researchers estimated emissions from mid-sized EVs that were registered in 2021 in the countries that make up 70% of the new car sales in the world - the US, Europe, India, and China. The report analyzes the life-cycle of vehicles under current political policies (energy initiatives that are likely to shift over time) and assumes vehicles will be on the road for about 18 years.</p><p><em><strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/4-top-startups-working-on-electric-vehicle-battery-recycling-2021-4">4 top startups chasing the $23 billion battery recycling market -and solving a major problem for electric cars</a></em></p><p>One of the main points in the argument that EVs do not significantly reduce emissions still holds true - electric cars produce more carbon emissions than gas vehicles during their manufacturing processes. Still, the ICCT shows that EVs quickly recoup this loss, as the cars produce less emissions cumulatively in comparison to a combustion engine within a year of everyday driving.</p><p>Furthermore, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/4-top-startups-working-on-electric-vehicle-battery-recycling-2021-4">recycling the electric car batteries</a> could bring manufacturing emissions down in the future, as the batteries are mostly responsible for the higher emissions during manufacturing.</p><p>The study's results lend impetus to the drive toward EVs, as well as the decarbonization of power grids, ICCT's managing director of Europe Peter Mock said in a <a href="https://theicct.org/publications/global-LCA-passenger-cars-jul2021">press release. </a></p><p>"Our aim with this study was to capture the elements that policymakers in these major markets need to fairly and critically evaluate different technology pathways for passenger cars," the study's author, ICCT researcher Georg Bieker said. "We know we need transformational change to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, and the results show that certain technologies are going to be capable of delivering deep decarbonization and others are clearly not."</p>

No, charging an electric car doesn't produce more carbon than driving a regular one

The <keyword id="6354321" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bengaluru" source="Orion">Bengaluru</keyword> <keyword id="6356415" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="metro" source="Orion">metro</keyword> <keyword id="6366234" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rail" source="Orion">rail</keyword> project is on track to complete 175 km of commute by June 2025, a top official said here.<br /><br />Addressing a session on the 'future of mobility' at the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2022 on Friday, Anjum Parwez, Managing Director, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (<keyword id="6367448" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BMRCL" source="Orion">BMRCL</keyword>), said as part of the second and third phase of the project, Bengaluru will have 314 km of metro rail connectivity by 2041. <br /><br />He said construction of metro lines is also progressing well on the airport side.<br /><br />He said the biggest challenge in urban mobility is the integration of multi-modal transport systems and moving people to get into public transport from personalised transport modes.<br /><br />Parwez said urban India was the most neglected area until the 1990s, as urban planning was not in sync with connectivity or mobility issues.<br /><br />He said BMRCL is getting a lot of support from startups in mobility to ensure that commuters have last-mile connectivity. <br /><br />He said the corporation is tying up with mobility providers to get people to reach the nodal point and commute to their workplaces.<br /><br />Parwez said the <keyword id="6367447" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Namma-Metro" source="Orion">Namma Metro</keyword> has recently gone digital with its payment options that include the use of QR code scans and UPI-based payment options which has met with good response from commuters. <br /><br />Also, there is no waiting time for passengers who are in a hurry as there is no need to stand in queues to buy tickets or cards now.<br /><br />He said BMRCL is working on a transit-oriented development where commuters live close to the stations and to the workplace. <br /><br />Besides, the BMRCL also intends to integrate all aggregators by bringing out a mobility card for commuters.<br /><br />He said the corporation is in talks with BMTC to have bus stops at metro stations to help commuters hop on and hop off both modes of transport.<br /><br />He said bike taxis and carpooling should be encouraged although the government of Karnataka had put brakes on their operation.<br /><br />The BMRCL is also working on introducing shopping options for commuters inside and outside the metro stations. He said the BMRCL plans to sell office space in metro stations and provide end-to-end solutions to all the stakeholders.<br /><br />Amit Bhatt, Managing Director of the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), said urbanisation in India is 33 per cent while it is about 80-85 per cent in European and American countries.<br /><br />He said about 66 per cent of urban infrastructure is yet to be built in India as the country is set to see a number of cities being built. The biggest challenge is to ensure zero emission, zero exclusion and zero accidents in urban transport, he said.<br /><br />Vadiraj Krishnamurthy, Vice President of Technology and Innovation, Bosch Global Software Technologies, said the future is software-defined fully programmable vehicles. <br /><br />"The key enablers of urban transport are personalised multi-modal mobility, automated mobility, electrified and connected mobility. Connecting vehicles using technology is an engineering challenge of the future," he said.<br /><br /><b>SEE ALSO:<br /></b><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/alstom-bags-rs-2643-crore-order-to-design-manufacture-312-metro-cars-for-delhi-metro-phase-iv/articleshow/95582764.cms"><strong>Alstom bags Rs 2,643 crore order to design, manufacture 312 metro cars for Delhi Metro Phase IV</strong></a><b><u><strong><br /></strong></u></b><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/2022-jeep-grand-cherokee-is-a-luxury-4x4-adventurer-at-77-5-lakh-heres-all-you-need-to-know/slidelist/95595383.cms"><strong>2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee is a luxury 4x4 adventurer at ₹77.5 lakh</strong></a><b><u></u></b>

Bengaluru metro rail on track to complete 175 km of commute by June 2025: BMRCL MD

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Electric vehicles are lauded as an environmentally friendly alternative to gas-powered cars, thanks in part to producing no emissions on the road.</strong></li><li><strong>Yet building electric cars creates more greenhouse-gas emissions than producing an equivalent gas-powered vehicle.</strong></li><li><strong>Studies have shown that to be true in the world's top three markets - in the US, China, and Europe.</strong></li><li><strong>It's on the major automakers to refine the process of building cars to reduce their deleterious effects on the environment. Some have made significant progress.</strong></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/driving-the-future">Read more stories from Business Insider's Driving the Future series</a>.</li></ul><p>Studies have shown that in the <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/cleaner-cars-cradle-grave">US</a>, <a href="https://theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/EV-life-cycle-GHG_ICCT-Briefing_09022018_vF.pdf">Europe</a>, and in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876610217309049">China</a>, producing an electric vehicle creates more greenhouse-gas emissions than producing an equivalent gas-powered vehicle.</p><p>The biggest reason for that disparity is an electric vehicle's battery, which can account for about a quarter of its weight, Colby Self, the managing director at the Automotive Science group, told Business Insider.</p><p>Electric-vehicle batteries are bigger than those used in gas-powered cars and feature a different kind of chemistry. While vehicles that run on gas tend to use lead-acid batteries, electric vehicles use lithium-ion batteries, like those found in cellphones and laptops.</p><p>Lithium-ion batteries require a lot of energy to produce. So, too, does the extraction and refinement of metals like lithium, nickel, and cobalt. They're also harder to recycle than lead-acid batteries, Self said.</p><p>"The CO2 emissions from making a battery are higher than what you save from not making the engine and transmission," David Reichmuth, a senior engineer in the clean-vehicles program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told Business Insider.</p><p>A 2015 study from the Union of Concerned Scientists found that manufacturing a midsize electric vehicle would produce about 15% more emissions than the process of building a similar gas-powered vehicle would. For a bigger electric vehicle with a larger battery, that gap could grow to 68% or more, the nonprofit organization found.</p><p>The International Council on Clean <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="transportation">Transportation</keyword> (ICCT) came to the same conclusion based on a review of 11 studies published between 2011 and 2017. The nonprofit organization said that the electricity used in the battery production was the single biggest factor in explaining the emissions gap, which means using cleaner sources of energy would be the most impactful way to reduce the emissions that come from the production process.</p><p>Volkswagen, which has perhaps the most ambitious electric-vehicle investment plans of any major automaker over the next decade, said that part of its agreement with LG Chem, one of its battery suppliers, requires the chemical company to use only environmentally friendly sources of electricity. And Tesla intends for its battery factory in Nevada to one day run entirely on renewable energy.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/tesla">Tesla</a> and BMW are also engaging in battery-recycling programs, which the ICCT cites as another way to reduce the emissions from battery manufacturing. Overall, decarbonizing electric grids, recycling batteries, and increasing battery-energy density could decrease the emissions produced by battery manufacturing by up to 49%, the ICCT estimates.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div></p><h2>Looking beyond the battery</h2><p>Automakers are taking other steps to reduce the use of environmentally harmful forms of energy in their vehicle plants. BMW may be the most ambitious, saying it will use only electricity from environmentally friendly sources when making vehicles starting in 2020.</p><p>Daimler plans to use only renewable energy in vehicle production starting in 2022, and Volkswagen says it will make production carbon-neutral by 2050. Tesla and Toyota also aspire to rely entirely on renewable energy at their manufacturing plants, but neither has set a deadline to complete the transition.</p><p>Automakers are already taking steps in that direction. About 60% of the energy General Motors uses at its factory in Lake Orion, Michigan, where it makes the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chevy-bolt-review-best-features-and-charging-challenges-2018-8">Chevrolet Bolt EV</a>, comes from methane that is naturally emitted from two landfills next to the factory, Jack Hund, the plant launch operations manager at GM, said in an interview with Business Insider.</p><p>And Tesla has over time increased the energy efficiency of the equipment at its Fremont, California, factory, leading to a 19% drop in energy use between 2016 and 2019.</p><p>Despite producing more emissions during the production stage, electric vehicles still pollute far less than gas-powered cars over the course of their lifespan.</p><p>In a 2015 study, the Union of Concerned Scientists found that gas-powered cars emitted almost double the emissions that contribute to global warming as electric vehicles, which can make up the difference from the manufacturing stage in six to 18 months of driving, depending on the size of the battery.</p><p>In 2018, the organization found that electric vehicles were getting even cleaner.</p><p>Driving an electric vehicle is like driving an equivalent gas-powered car that gets 80 mpg (the average for a gas-powered vehicle <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-epa-emissions-autos/u-s-auto-fleet-hit-record-high-fuel-efficiency-in-2017-idUSKCN1QN23N">was 24.9 mpg for the 2017 model year</a>, the organization found, up from 73 mpg in 2017 because of a decrease in the use of coal and an increase in the use of renewables in US energy grids.</p><p>The 2018 ICCT briefing arrived at a similar conclusion for Europe, saying that a standard electric vehicle in Europe produced half the overall greenhouse-gas emissions in its lifetime than an average European gas-powered car, and would reach parity with the average gas-powered car in two to three years.</p><p>It is important that automakers work to lower the emissions produced during the manufacturing process, but Jessika Trancik, an associate professor of energy studies at MIT, says the way forward is clear: "Offering more alternative-powertrain electric vehicles that meet consumers' needs is probably the single largest contribution they can make."</p><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/driving-the-future">Read more stories from Business Insider's Driving the Future series here.</a></h2><p class="tagline"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/future-of-retail?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=transportation&amp;itm_campaign=future-of-retail"></a></p>

Electric vehicles are more environmentally friendly than their gas-powered counterparts, but they still lag behind in one key area: production

<p>Car analysts are <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/volkswagen-emissions-scandal-could-set-back-entire-car-industry-say-analysts-2015-9">sifting through the wreckage of the Volkswagen emissions scandal</a> trying to work out what exactly happened and what comes next. </p><p>A Goldman Sachs note sent to clients on Thursday has two charts that show just how bad the fallout from the whole thing could be for the entire European car industry.</p><p>The first shows how many diesels cars pass the current European emissions tests, seen in the red box (the letters refer to the type of emission reduction technology each of the cars is using.)</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Goldman Sachs</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Here's Goldman on the test:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">The "NEDC" is the test currently used in Europe to measure emission levels of light-duty vehicles for regulatory purposes. This test is not reflective of driving reality since (according to the ICCT) the test offers a 'stylized' driving speed pattern with low accelerations, constant speed cruises, and many 'idling' events. The European Commission has criticized the test as largely underestimating emissions levels of vehicles under real driving conditions.</p><p>So, not a great test then. The second chart shows how the same crop of cars would fare under the more stringent, more realistic test - they're in the tiny red box in the corner that you can barely make out.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Goldman Sachs</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>A much smaller number pass the test and the coloured in dots show the average emissions for each vehicle category are all non-compliant.</p><p>Goldman admits that these 32 cars are not fully representative of the entire industry, but you can see the general trend. It has huge ramifications for the European car industry - 53% of all cars in the continent are diesel.</p><p>The EU is already planning a <a href="http://www.theicct.org/wltp-how-new-test-procedure-cars-will-affect-fuel-consumption-values-eu">transition to this new test in 2017</a>. But Goldman warns that the Volkswagen emissions scandal has led to "a profound intensification of scrutiny on diesel emissions" and as a result in "a more rapid shift away from diesel."</p><p>In short, the Volkswagen scandal could kill diesel in Europe as regulators and the public turn their noses up at the "dirty" fuel.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/luxury-suvs-bathroom-becker-automotive-design-2015-8">The rich and powerful are going crazy over these luxury SUVs with bathrooms and cable TV</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="5uaHMzdzqmPn1GLRrqldRTmwqnI1inBB" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

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