Max Dunn's Web Site - Plugin 2010: Environmental Factors

Plugin 2010: Environmental Factors

New studies which examine the life-cycle impacts of grid-connected vehicles

Electricity as a Low Carbon Fuel - California as an example

California has some stringent policies for emissions like
- AB1493 "Pavely" to reduce fleet emissions by 37% for passenger cars
- Limitations on coal
- RPS to generate 20% of electricity by renewable source by 2010 and 33% by 2020 (Hydropower is not considered renewable under this standard)
- AB32
Assumptions: Vehicles get more efficient, ethanol product goes down quickly and volumes go up, biomass and natural gas for electricity goes up
Penetration of EVs follow EPRI study, 60% market share by 2050
Summary: Electricity is a low carbon fuel and it is already deployed at scale

Air Quality Impacts of large-scale PHEV penetration

In 2005 emissions from electric power generation was: NOx = 19%, SO2 = 67%
Assumptions: By 2030
- 50% market penetration of PHEV
- 6% of electricity demand
- add'l electricity met by coal-fired power. This is a worst case scenario
More baseload power doesn't result in significant changes of SO2, NOx and Hg because of caps
Simulation showed less SO2, NOx, ozone, TOG (total organic matter) and PM2.5 (particulate matter) with PHEVs even will all add'l electricity coming from coal
Primary PM goes up but net PM goes down because of reduction in other emissions
92% of people will get less exposure to ozone, 93% less exposure to PM

Pilot Study of Magnetic Fields in Electric and Conventional Vehicles

(Richard Tell did a lot of this work)
Common sources of low-frequency field sources: transmission, distribution, appliance and ground field in our homes
Average residential magnetic fields are 0.5 mG (milli-gauss) but 5% of our houses has fields above 3 mG
IARC 2002 concluded that there is limited evidence in humans of childhood leukemia and inadequate evidence in experimental animals. Oerall extremely low-frequency magnetic fields has same carcinogenic potential as coffee and pickles
WHO 2007 came to much the same conclusion. No evidence ELF (extremely low frequency) magnetic fields alone cause tumors
Limited test in 2010
- Meter range from 40 to 1000 hertz although EVs could be above this
- Drove around a 10 mile course with both city and freeway
- Six meters deployed around seats and by feet, recorded 4 seconds on 3 axis
- Results: Conventional car is 0.5 mG and EV is 1 mG. Other vehicles similar in that EVs had higher magnetic fields than similare ICE cars, but not significantly so
1,000 person study (Zaffanella & Kalton, 1998) found 8% of the sample spent 2.6% of time at home greater than 8 mG and 3% spent 2.0% of their time at greater than 16 mG
Summary: Magnetic field levels in EVs similar to those in homes and are far lower than current safety guidelines

Lifecycle Analysis of Li-Ion Batteries

Even with aggressive penetration of EVs, lithium supplies are adequate through 2050
Reuse and recycling lithium batteries will greatly reduce demand for virgin material
EPA working on LCA for lithium batteries, in particular concerned about nano-tube carbon
We could still produce lithium in minerals from US and we could be self-sufficient (especially with recycling) and would add only $20 to the cost of the car
Impacts of battery dwarfed by impacts of car production which is dwarfed by impacts of transportation energy
Toxco Ohio plant will use improved process to recover Li from batteries
Future recycling could reuse materials in batteries to create new batteries but still work to be done on this
Work sponsored by DOE oOffice of Vehicle Technologies. Contact:

Created on July 28, 2010 12:01:53 by Max Dunn (216.1.176.121)