The development and introduction of modern electric vehicles (EVs), including cars, trucks and buses has been heralded as nothing short of a revolution in the personal transportation field. No longer will tailpipes spew fumes, gas vapors escape from pumps, or used engine oil be dumped down the drain. The environment and the climate will be permanently changed for the better.

That’s the message we receive about EVs on a daily basis. But as engineers we understand that there are always problems with new technologies, and we don’t blindly accept all the hype. We also know that engineers are usually the ones tasked with managing the ultimate reality of any technology. We don’t hide from the problems. We tackle them head-on.

So, what about the promise of EVs? Are they delivering on their claimed benefits of cost reduction and environmental protection. The answers, so far, are mixed, and will depend on much hard work and creative solutions that are still to come.

The Benefits of EVs

Yes, there are important benefits to widespread EV adoption for transportation. These include:

• Zero tailpipe and fuel vapor emissions
• Ease of consumer use
• Reduced dependency on fossil fuels
• Reduced consumer operating costs
• Increased safety

In theory, each of these benefits, when multiplied across the transportation network, can provide benefits of scale to engender positive outcomes. The problem is, right now the majority of these benefits are only beginning to become available at the individual consumer level. If you’re not buying expensive gasoline, for example, you’re saving money after the initial purchase, as the electrical costs tend to be lower. But, from a wider perspective, several large problems remain to be solved before widespread EV benefits will be apparent. Let’s take a quick look at some of these problems.

• Battery Chemistry: EVs use rechargeable batteries currently based on Lithium-Ion technology. This technology requires the mining of critical and often toxic materials in geographically sensitive regions of the globe. Lithium-Ion batteries are also subject to overheating, fire, or explosion. EV battery issues are as serious as carrying around a tank of volatile gasoline.

• Battery Life: Warranties claim EV battery life of about eight years. There is not a long time to go before individual battery units on the road will require repair or replacement.
• Recycling: Batteries in EVs are typically housed in a large, sealed enclosure underneath the passenger compartment. The individual battery cells are anchored with adhesive that is difficult to safely remove without causing additional pollution. This makes battery replacement and recycling very difficult, and the toxic chemicals used very hazardous.
• Non-Tailpipe Emissions: While EVs do not spew dangerous emissions from their tailpipes, they do require battery recharging that relies on the electrical grid, which, in most cases, relies on fossil fuels to generate power. EV recharging from non-renewable energy sources simply shifts tailpipe emissions elsewhere. 
• There are even more technical considerations that are taken into account and are discussed more in-depth with our Friend, CircuitBread, and you can learn about the greater technical hurdles with EV vehicles there.

The Challenge of EV Development

Currently, EVs, despite their environmental promise, are in the evolutionary stage of development. In order to reach the many promises made based on their widespread usage, battery chemistries must improve, recycling strategies must be established so as not to endanger both the environment and vehicle maintenance personnel, and increased EV charging demands on an electric grid running largely on fossil fuels must be mitigated.

The engineering community around the globe is already at work on many of these problems, but time is critical as we put more and more EVs on the road. As has been said many times, we have miles to go before we sleep. Or indeed drive.