Stories
EV vs. CNG: Shocking Report Reveals CNG Cars Outperform EVs Environmentally!
- •Amid rising pollution and fuel prices, electric and CNG vehicles are promoted as eco-friendly alternatives.
- •A report by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) indicates that CNG cars have a lower environmental impact over their full life cycle in India compared to EVs.
- •CNG is a cleaner fuel, emitting significantly fewer harmful gases than petrol and diesel, proving environmentally friendly in a well-to-wheel analysis.
- •Electric vehicles fail due to the energy-intensive manufacturing process of their lithium-ion batteries, which involves mining minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel.
- •Future challenges include the disposal of large amounts of waste from old EV batteries and the complexities of their recycling.
Key Questions Answered
According to a report by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) based on a well-to-wheel analysis, CNG cars have a lower full life-cycle environmental impact than electric vehicles in India because of the current power mix and the heavy pollution involved in manufacturing lithium-ion batteries.
Electric vehicles contribute to pollution before hitting the road because their lithium-ion batteries require energy-intensive extraction of minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel, creating significant manufacturing pollution and future battery disposal challenges.
To make electric vehicles genuinely beneficial for the environment, the power sector needs to be rapidly decarbonized and transition toward generating electricity from renewable sources like solar and wind energy.
