The EV Grass Isn’t Always Greener

by Sara Counihan (NACS/Convenience.com/Convenience Matters podcast episode) In some regions, an EV emits more carbon than an internal combustion engine vehicle. -- ... John Eichberger leads the Fuels Institute, and the question he is often asked is why the push for EVs? After all, they’re not always a greener solution than an ICE vehicle because most U.S. electricity comes from fossil fuels. It’s much more carbon intensive to manufacture an EV than an ICE vehicle. Eichberger said the Fuels Institute published a report to look at the life-cycle carbon emissions of electric, combustion and hybrid electric vehicles.

“From the point of sourcing the materials, mining the lithium, drilling the oil, getting the aluminum, building the vehicle, running a hundred thousand miles and then getting rid of the vehicle, we wanted to understand the contribution of emissions from the energy, the fuel, the electricity used in [EVs],” said Eichberger on this week’s episode. “And then from there … looking at how do we reduce emissions in a meaningful and efficient way?”

According to Eichberger, 73% of the life-cycle emissions from an ICE vehicle occur during motion when the vehicle is burning the liquid fuel to move the vehicle down the road. By contrast, 72% of all the emissions associated with the electric vehicle come from electricity generation.

But looking at a market where lots of coal power plants are operating, West Virginia and Southwest Virginia for example, an electric vehicle with over 200,000 miles emits 16% more carbon than an ICE vehicle; however, in the Pacific Northwest where there is more renewable energy, an EV emits 73% less carbon.

“We need to start thinking about strategic deployment,” said Eichberger. “Maybe electric vehicles make a lot of sense for the environment in Seattle [but not] in other markets, and we need to be much more prescriptive about how we deploy our strategies.”

“Maybe in some of these markets, hybrid vehicles make the best sense or maybe even just an efficient combustion engine vehicle. So, it really is looking at the data and realizing one size fits all strategies can’t work,” he said.

Don’t miss this week’s episode No. 327 “Where Do EVs Make the Most Sense?,” as Eichberger discusses President Biden’s goal to stop selling new ICE vehicles by 2035, why there were so many EV commercials during the Super Bowl, charging range anxiety and what the next big thing is for transportation—beyond electric vehicles. READ MORE

Excerpt from WHO 13: Some officials and organizations in Des Moines and across the state are working to boost electric vehicle adoption. What they want is to get fossil-fuel burning engines off the roads — reducing Iowa’s carbon footprint, boosting local economies and ridding the air of traffic pollution, which disproportionately harms frontline communities.

While other states like California, Washington and New York are expanding charging infrastructure, passing electric vehicle mandates and offering incentives to electric fleets, a strong biofuel-growing sector has slowed any rush in Iowa toward gasoline-free vehicles.

Iowa is consistently ranked among the worst U.S. states to own or buy electric vehicles. It is also one of the states with the lowest number of electric vehicles registered and electric charging stations added during the past four years.

Iowa’s electrification roadblocks have been erected by its Republican-controlled state legislature. Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) has repeatedly criticized electric vehicles; last year, Reynolds called the Biden administration’s goal to have electric vehicles make up 50% of new car sales by 2030 ‘short-sighted.’

“The Biden administration has focused all its efforts on electric vehicles and is actively attempting to eliminate gas-powered cars,” Reynolds said in her 2022 Condition of the State Address in January. “That’s a mistake, especially as China works to lock up the precious metals that make EV batteries.”

China currently dominates the electric vehicle supply chain, with Chinese battery-maker CATL controlling one-third of the global electric vehicle battery market.

Electric vehicle owners avoid gas taxes, and Iowa charges them higher registration fees than gasoline engine owners — a cost that has increased steadily each year since 2020 to $130 per vehicle today. In 2021, Iowa’s legislature passed a law that prohibits direct sale of electric vehicles by manufacturers.

Several Iowa legislators remain opposed to investing in electrifying transportation because of what electrification of vehicles across the U.S. would mean for sales of ethanol, which gas companies blend into their product to comply with federal law. Last year, five Iowa representatives wrote a letter to President Biden criticizing his push for electric vehicles and lack of investments in biofuel.

A 2019 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Initiative report found that the battery and fuel production for electric motors are more emissions-intensive than combustion engines. These production and recycling challenges can diminish the climate and environmental friendliness of an electric engine. READ MORE