the materials used at the moment are unlikely to be ones that are required in batteries in 30 or so year's time.
Who cares? If we don't get emissions under control in the next 10 years we're pretty much dead anyway. There's a very good reason why lithium battery recycling isn't well advanced at the moment - we don't need it. The batteries are lasting so well that there aren't enough available for end of life repurposing, let alone recycling.
I care. Mining for the metals is one of the dirtiest processes, just as bad (in fact rather worse) than freeing oil. Ok, we need less of it than oil but if ALL vehicles become electric it will be an enormous enterprise. It's not just the mining. Most mines around the world supplying these metals are desecrating the land around them, much of which is protected land. Forest destruction follows the setting up of the routes to the mine etc. All the info readily available.
Don't think I'm anti EV. I think it's brilliant for removing the pollution from streets to the power station where it can hopefully be managed or to wind/sun etc.
But are we sure we aren't just creating a different problem in different parts of the world? Actually there's a good item in New Scientist this week about it.
As the demand for charging increases it causes a huge amount of energy needing investment. Take street charging.
Lamposts are on average 80 yards apart. What's the average car length, say 3 yards or 4. Clearly the average street in London, say, 100 houses each side, all with at least one car, can't hope to sort that out. The average street lamp is wired for between 35 and 200 watts. 3 phase?I don't think so. Imagine every street lamp tring to charge a car..the existing wiring has no chance of handling the power required.
What will be needed is massive relaying of wiring to rebuilt parking bays..a huge amount of energy to achieve. Etc.etc.
I'm just not sure that in the ten year period you allow, we can cachieve all that without actually adding to the problem, or worse, creating another blind alley.
Nick
