What are the advantages of an electric car?

What are the advantages of an electric motor over an internal combustion engine?

The efficiency of an electric motor is 80 to 90% higher than that of the most efficient internal combustion engine. Translated: energy dispersion is significantly lower than in conventional cars, which benefits efficiency.
In terms of performance, full torque is available almost instantaneously with an electric motor. With the same power and segment, and despite the higher weight due to the batteries, electric cars are more responsive.
A further advantage is the greater reliability of the engines: failures are rarer than with conventional vehicles. The power unit has a simpler structure, has no wear parts, and does not require the replacement of filters and fluids, which is why maintenance costs are significantly reduced.

What does an electric car motor look like and how does it work?

To explain how an electric car works, we can summarise the composition of the powertrain through 6 different components and their roles:

• Battery

• Electric motor

• Power Electronics

• On-board charger

• Air conditioning

• Software

The battery is the heart of the electric car. It is often wrongly compared to the fuel tank of a petrol or diesel car. The battery is actually a much more sophisticated element. Suffice it to say that a larger battery can improve both the range and the performance of the car (top speed, pick-up, acceleration).
The electric motor is the element that transforms the energy contained in the batteries into kinetic energy, i.e. into motion. It is a much simpler apparatus than the endothermic one and it is also more robust, as it lacks the typical elements subject to wear or failure, such as connecting rods, pistons or mechanical parts.

Do electric cars pollute?

The comparison with conventionally powered cars is very important to understand how much pollution electric cars can cause. A study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) states that the CO2 emissions of a battery-powered car, “from well to wheel”, are around 66-69% lower in Europe than those of a petrol car of the same category, 60-68% lower in the USA, 37-45% lower in China and 19-34% lower in India. The same study predicts that by 2030 this gap between battery- and petrol-powered cars will increase.

Electric car motors do not emit any exhaust gases, because they do not require combustion processes to operate, which results in zero emissions of CO2, nitrogen oxide (NOx) and fine particulate matter (PM). This is why electric cars are often referred to as zero-emission cars, which is of great benefit to air quality in urban centres.

The issue, however, is broader and also encompasses energy sources as well as the production of the vehicle and its components, starting with the batteries.
The production of batteries for electric cars requires important processes to extract the materials used and the production of the accumulators themselves. We are talking about production factors that have their own carbon footprint, which will be greatly reduced by the disposal and reuse of accumulators.
It is expected that by 2025, Europe will be able to reuse 26 GWh of batteries and that Italy will recycle 60,000 tonnes of batteries per year by 2030. This will help to make the car production chain more sustainable by eliminating waste throughout the life of the batteries.

How can electric cars reduce pollution?

Electric cars will make a major contribution to the decarbonisation of the transport sector and, in Europe, to the achievement of the Net Zero target for 2050. Especially in built-up areas, they will help to improve air quality and reduce noise pollution, with considerable benefits for the mental and physical well-being of residents and motorists.
Already today, electric vehicles achieve a significant reduction in CO2 emissions: a study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) states that the CO2 emissions of a battery-powered car are around 66-69% lower in Europe than those of a petrol car of the same category, 60-68% lower in the USA, 37-45% lower in China, and 19-34% lower in India. The same study predicts that by 2030 this gap between battery- and petrol-powered cars will increase.
The share of renewables in the energy mix of European countries (and beyond) is growing, and battery production is set to become increasingly sustainable, thanks to modern recycling and reuse techniques that offer new possibilities for batteries that can no longer be used for electric vehicles, but have a fair residual capacity suitable for a range of other applications.