Green vehicles: the double-edged sword

The world is increasingly polluted. New laws, conferences and meetings are established among countries to solve this problem. In the European frame, the “Europe´s growth strategy” has set five ambitious objectives, that is: on employment, innovation, education, social inclusion and climate/energy, to be reached by 2020. However, what has been achieved?. There are many sectors in which contamination can be reduced using for example renewable energies. Vehicles are the ones that provoke 20% of CO2 emissions, “the major contributor to climate change, according to UK National Charity Environmental protection.

Energy and oil products are getting more and more expensive to the point that the standard barrel of crude oil or other petroleum products has reached 96.20 US $/bbl crude oil (OPEC basket day price), according to the EU energy database on the 6th of June, 2012. EU legislation has implemented a new Directive law to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products based on the current Council Directive 2009/119/EC of 14th of September, 2009. “The European Union’s dependency on imports of petroleum products is an increasing cause for concern for European economic prospects”. Also, the EU has established the “Euro standards” with the impact that all new cars must comply with strict EU vehicle emission standards.

The EU is putting in place an ambitious energy policy as is expressed in the Treaty of Lisbon by “covering the full range of energy sources from fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal) to nuclear energy and renewables (solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, hydro-electric and tidal)”. As one of the factors contributing to the development of energy policy and inside the mentioned Europe 2020 strategy framework, on 28th of April 2010, the European Commission presented a strategy for clean and energy efficient vehicles (“green vehicles”) in the COM/2010/0186.

Inside this 2020 strategy, the EU is committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 % by that time. Renewable energy on electric vehicles (EVs) is proposed as a viable solution.

Clean and energy efficient vehicles

There are many theories about electric vehicles. The reality is that the technology is not a new development, but a proven technology. In fact, many studies show that the electric vehicle has been around for over 100 years. History reflects how “in 1900, there were more than 4,000 cars on the road- a third each electric, gasoline and steam-powered”. In the same study, National Public Radio (NPR) describes how in 1920 with more developed roads, car owners wanted faster cars than the electric ones.

Also, in the 21st century new models were launched. Some electric cars currently in the market are: Nissan Leaf, Smart Fortwo, Chevy Volt and the coming electric Ford Focus. Speed has increased and price has become affordable.

Nevertheless, the awareness of a real solution to face climate change made the European Commission set out a policy the 28th April, 2010 in Brussels to support the creation of a clean and energy efficient transport system in the EU that will contribute to achieve the Europe 2020 objectives. This European strategy stated that “the plan is part of a sweeping new strategy for introducing more ‘green’ cars to the market, seen as crucial to reviving the car industry and weaning Europe off oil.” To comply with EU 2020 priorities, this legislation also includes those vehicles capable of using electricity, hydrogen, biogas or even efficient petrol-powered vehicles as alternatives.

Denmark, a model to follow

If inquiries are done into the European statistics, it is remarkable to notice that Denmark is the only country inside the EU without an energy import dependency with -18.80% (2009 EU energy statistics). There are many car companies which have opted for this future technology. In Denmark, EVs are a reality. We visited Insero E-mobility and Better Place, the two most important electric car companies in Denmark to know more about the characteristics of these EVs.

Better Place, Denmark

Insero E-mobility

Stine Højgaard, sales representative at Insero E-mobility, explains that “Green cars, including electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles, are becoming more popular, efficient, powerful and fun to drive. In deciding to purchase a green car, you are helping the environment by reducing your carbon footprint when you drive”. The first concept to keep in mind is the real difference between the ICE-car (diesel and petrol cars) as opposed to hybrids and electric vehicles. Here, the focus will be on the Battery-Electric Vehicles because they are more common and more widely available.

Making the tour inside the Insero E-mobility car company, Stine Højgaard told us that the first thing you should examine is the range and autonomy of the EVs, that is to say, how many kilometers (or miles) the car can drive without needing to be recharged. For example, the Nissan LEAF's ability to carry five passengers up to 175 km (109 miles) under the New European Driving Cycle, according to Nissan Motors Media data. 

Another aspect is the battery life. There are three types of battery power: lead-acid (oldest and cheapest type of rechargeable battery, no longer used for e-car due to weight and environmental concerns), nickel-cadmium or nickel metal hydride (batteries that are maintenance free and difficult to damage. However they are heavy weight, higher cost), and lithium-ion (are also maintenance free and the newest type of rechargeable batteries). The latest is the type of battery mostly used in Electric Vehicles and in some hybrids.

Depending on the distance you daily drive, Stine Højgaard clarifies that some batteries should be run down to a certain level before charging them again. Other batteries should not be charged to more than 80% on a daily basis because the battery life is reduced when they are fully charged.

Stine Højgaard makes clear that the electric vehicle market is still fairly young, so certain aspects of buying this type of car will be uncertain. “Battery life and the price for a new battery are very difficult to predict. These factors must be taken into consideration, with an understanding that the green car market is growing and changing rapidly”. In this sense, the top CEO of Insero organization says that “only between 25-30 % of the energy comes from sustainable sources”. Therefore, how green they are, is very much depending on where the energy comes from.

Better Place

Better Place is a global provider of electric vehicle (EV) networks and services founded on the 29th of October, 2007. As Johnny Hansen, CEO of Better Place in Denmark, clarifies their mission is “to end our dependence on oil, accelerating the transition to sustainable transportation”. In their office in Copenhagen they have many Nissan electric cars which are already on the streets. Johnny Hansen explains the accomplished developments, as well as the obstacles still to overcome.

The best advantage is that EVs produce no harmful pollution to the environment and also, unlike traditional fossil fuel-powered cars, electric cars are quiet during operation. “Their automatic transmission make them easy and fun to drive”, Johnny Hansen describes. However, he also mentions the difficulties still to overcome such as the cost, placement and range of the batteries. “The greatest achievement is to reach a balance between price, technology and the market”. It is necessary to get all the elements together: industries, country policies, investments and society.

Morten Østergaard, Minister for Science, Innovation and Higher Education of Denmark, accounts for another positive side of the story: employment. “This new market is an opportunity to create jobs, innovate and invest in the future of our society at a moment that the entire world needs to fight against the economic crisis and the climate change”.

Denmark is one of the few countries in the world, as well as Israel for example (first Better Place office), that assesses the potential of electric cars and that takes policy measures to promote them as the inversely proportional to taxes, which means zero taxes for zero emission EVs.

Better Place, Denmark

Spain: new market, new solutions

After the nationalization of the subsidiary Spanish oil company Repsol IPF in Argentina and the Spanish electric company TDE in Bolivia in the first quarter of 2012, future strategies have to point out to other directions: renewable energies. That is to say, in terms of crisis and increase of oil and electricity prices, renewable energies are the solution to both economic recovery and environmental protection.

In Spain EVs have not had great success yet even under those circumstances. The closest example to electric vehicles are the hybrids. “Every brand has at least one car with these characteristics”, explains Paco Martinez, sales representative in Samar Mobil, Volvo car corporation in Alicante, Spain. Within this company they have hybrids from sports brands like Porsche, such as the Cayenne Hybrid, a plug-in hybrid, available for sale.

Paco Martínez also illustrates that Honda currently has three hybrid models: Jazz, Insight and CR-Z. “These 3 models have a system for harnessing the kinetic energy, using the deceleration and braking to convert that energy into electricity and charge the batteries installed in the lower part of the boot. They are maintenance-free batteries and are constantly charging”, exemplifies Paco Martínez. Honda also works with other green alternatives such as motor vehicles powered by hydrogen, which in this case implies that, all that comes out of the tailpipe is water vapor.

When it has to do with subsidies, at present Spain has no support for hybrid cars. These grants were given by autonomous communities every year from May to May, although this year they have not been renewed, or at least not yet. “The aid given by these autonomous communities did not cover the entire Spanish territory. You had to prove by the census that you reside in that community to obtain the aid from this city”, specifies Paco Martínez. The agency that manages the aid in Alicante is the Valenciana Agency of Energy (Aven). 

Achievement vs Competitiveness

Electric Vehicles are a promising technology for reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other environmental impacts of road transport. According to the “Impact on EVs” report on April 2011, it is stipulated that the price of the vehicle is a crucial point in the question whether one day EVs will be able to fully penetrate the car market, where “the median price for all Electric Vehicles is € 28,750”. As said before, the driving range is the other relevant criteria for EVs to be established in the society.

About government support and investments, the same study gives numbers describing that “the overall sum of € 21.6 billion over a period from 2008 to 2011 [was] divided almost identically between the USA (€ 8.6 billion) and the EU (€ 8.5 billion)”. There are many strategies to promote EVs. One of the Danish actions is to establish free parking for EVs. One measure to achieve Spain’s goal to have one million electric or hybrid cars on the roads by 2014 is to provide consumers who buy an electric car in Spain with a rebate of 15% off the price of the vehicle.

On an European level, the EU Economic Recovery Plan focus on the three Public Private Partnerships The Energy-efficient buildings, Factories of Future and European Green cars Initiatives. In addition to that, the EU has set out an ambitious strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from road vehicles and much has been achieved already. As the European Strategy on clean and efficient vehicles provides, “Regulation (EC) No 443/2009 setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars requires a fleet average emission of 130 g CO2/km for new passenger cars to be fully achieved by 2015”.

As the prediction is that traffic levels will continue to increase, road transport will continue to be a significant contributor to GHG. The proposed solution implies that one has to look at other directions where electricity prices remain relatively stable, while fossils fuel costs are rising and reserves eroding. Renewables emerge as the energy of the future while EVs are outlined as the clean alternative to reduce CO2 emissions and to open a new economic market. Therefore, green vehicles are a true double-edged sword.