Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicles are gaining attention as an option for improving air quality and

lessening United States dependence on imported oil. Research and development is

under way on advanced battery and fuel cell technology and automakers are stepping up efforts to design electric vehicles for fleets and personal use. While today’s

technology is new, battery-powered vehicles have been around for a long time.

Electrics flourished before the rise of the gasoline automobile and some 50,000

electric vehicles were in use in the United States by 1912.

How Clean are Electric Vehicles?

Electric vehicles are sometimes referred to as “zero-emission vehicles” because they

produce essentially no pollution from the tailpipe or through fuel evaporation. This

is important, for it means that the use of electric vehicles could greatly reduce

emissions of carbon monoxide and smog-forming pollutants in cities with dirty air.

While electric cars themselves are clean, generating the

electricity to charge vehicle batteries produces air pollution and solid waste. If electric power plants produce

electricity using clean energy sources such as solar or

hydropower, emissions are negligible. But power plants

which combust conventional fuels like coal (used for more

than half of the electricity generated in the U.S. today)

produce emissions such as particulate matter, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxid.

These same plants also create carbon dioxide, a combustion product of all fossil fuels, which contributes to global warming.

There are several factors that affect this pollution tradeoff. It may be easier to

control pollution at a power plant than from individual vehicles. Power plants

often are located outside major centers of urban air pollution. And finally, while

only a fraction of today’s power plants use renewable resources (biomass, wind,

geothermal, or solar power), electricity can be produced from these clean sources

of energy.

Potential health or safety risks associated with widespread electric vehicle use

have not yet been fully evaluated. Many vehicle batteries contain toxic elements

or produce toxic emissions which could make battery production, transport, use,

and disposal a significant solid waste issue. The United States must consider how

to safely dispose of or recycle these batteries.

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY EPA 400-F-92-012

OFFICE OF MOBILE SOURCES

FACT SHEET OMS-10

August, 1994
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Electric Vehicles

For More Information:

The Office of Mobile Sources is the national center for research and policy on air

pollution from highway and off-highway motor vehicles and equipment. You

can write to us at the EPA National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory,

2565 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105. Our phone number is (313) 668-4333.

When Will Electric Vehicles be Available to the Public?

A few electric vehicles are on the road already, but these are limited in capability

by the state of battery technology. Currently available batteries are expensive,

heavy, and store little power. For example, the most common batteries in use today

(lead-acid) allow a car to travel only 60-70 miles on a charge, cost $3,000 to $4,000

per battery pack, and must be replaced every four years.

However, efforts are under way to advance vehicle technology. The Big Three

automakers and the U.S. Department of Energy have formed the Advanced Battery Consortium, a $260 million cooperative project, to investigate more efficient

types of batteries such as nickel-iron, sodium-sulfur, and zinc-air batteries. On the

policy front, the state of California will require automakers to sell zero-emission

vehicles (ZEVs) beginning in 1998. The California law is intended to force technology development and hasten widespread commercial introduction of electric vehicles. California is requiring ZEVs to be 2 percent of annual sales (about 40,000

vehicles) in 1998, phasing up to 10 percent (about 200,000 vehicles) by the year

2003. Other states have the option of adopting these same laws.

What are Hybrid Electric Vehicles?

Hybrid electric vehicles have batteries to provide electric power but are also equipped

with a small internal combustion engine (usually powered by gasoline). The engine provides a power boost and/or can be used to recharge the batteries, as pure

electrics today simply cannot achieve the range, performance, or convenience of a

modern gasoline car. Unfortunately, the extra engine substantially increases pollution from the vehicle, erasing many of the air quality benefits of pure electric

vehicles.

Do Electric Cars Operate Differently?

For the most part, driving an electric car will feel very similar to driving a gasoline

car. Without the internal combustion engine, electric cars have the potential to be

quieter. Drivers will be able to recharge their cars by plugging them in overnight

to an electrical outlet at home and scientists are researching batteries which can

be recharged quickly. Because current batteries are large and heavy, there may be

less room for cargo and passengers in some vehicles. Early electric vehicles will

likely be used by fleets which can recharge vehicles at night and by commuters

who drive short distances in urban areas or who use an electric car as a second

vehicle.