Page 52 - European Energy Innovation - spring 2018 publication
P. 52
52 Spring 2018 European Energy Innovation
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Pineapples, standards and
monkeys – where do we stand
with electric vehicles and where
are we heading?
By Thomas Willson, Policy Officer at ECOS
Transport is responsible for a disclosure that they had been used
quarter of all greenhouse gas in experiments on Java monkeys,
emissions in the European which were placed in airtight boxes
Union and stands as the to inhale Volkswagen Beetle exhaust
largest source of emissions ahead fumes while distracted by cartoons,
of the power sector. Road vehicles in a bid to prove the environmental
account for most of these emissions performance of diesel cars.
and disproportionately impact local air
quality and noise pollution. Diesel-gate and the work of Dr.
Haagen have since become important
The link between road vehicles and milestones for the transport sector
pollution was not known until many and helped to inadvertently drive the
years after their introduction on most promising means to decarbonise
western roads. The relationship was road transport: electromobility.
eventually discovered by the chemist Electric vehicles (EVs) offer several
Dr. Arie Haagen-Smit, a professor at advantages over conventional
Caltech who had achieved recognition combustion engines, which include
for his work on plant hormones and lower emissions, improved local air
studies into the flavours of wine and quality, reduced dependency on fossil
garlic. Harnessing a technique that fuel imports and strengthened security
also helped to determine the flavour of power systems. Studies have shown
of pineapples, he was able to end that even when electric vehicles
a debate that had been raging in (EVs) are charged with the dirtiest EU
Los Angeles in the 1940s – whether electricity mix, their environmental
it was industrial pollution, backyard performance still exceeds traditional
incinerators or road vehicles that were internal combustion engines.
responsible for the choking smog that
had engulfed the city. The question of how to ensure the
rapid market uptake of EVs has often
Today, the relationship between been likened to the ‘chicken or the
road vehicles and pollution is egg’ paradox – how can EVs numbers
well understood. The Volkswagen grow without charging infrastructure
emissions scandal ‘Diesel-gate’ has and how can charging infrastructure
further improved our knowledge, with be deployed without EVs? The
revelations on how manufacturers European Union attempted to crack
circumvent emissions tests with ‘defeat the egg with the Alternative Fuel
devices’ installed to reduce exhaust Infrastructure Directive, which aims
pollutants when under test conditions. to support the availability charging
These defeat devices recently made infrastructure and ensure their
headlines again, after the extraordinary interoperability with standardisation.
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