Most recent 40 articles: Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles
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Biden Administration Faces Stark Choice on Its Biggest Climate Policy - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Nov 28) |
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Nov 28 · The UN’s Climate Change Conference is just about to kick off in Dubai, juxtaposing the powerful political power of the fossil fuel industry and the desperate need to reduce oil and gas usage as we face an ongoing climate crisis. With the petroleum-dominated transportation sector the leading source of heat-trapping emissions in the United States, it’s a great opportunity to look at the Biden administration’s progress on cleaning up passenger cars and trucks and what we should look for in the coming year.
This year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed new emissions and fuel economy standards (respectively) ... Read more ...
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What is the Department of Transportation’s Greenhouse Gas Performance Measure, and Why Does it Matter? - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Nov 27) |
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Nov 27 · Last week, the Federal Highway Administration finalized an important regulation–the greenhouse gas performance measure. UCS along with more than 100,000 members of the public have written in support of this national rule that will gather the scattered and incomplete data counting greenhouse gas emissions into a unified standard so local, state, and federal transportation authorities can make informed decisions.
Currently, only 24 states and the District of Columbia have laws requiring them to set targets and track their greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. Given that transportation is the sector of the economy that contributes the most to the climate crisis in ... Read more ...
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Electric Vehicle Sales Continue to Grow, Despite What Some Automakers Are Saying - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Nov 13) |
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Nov 13 · The future of cars is electric. That’s not just what I think, it’s not just what is required to slow climate change, it’s what many of the world’s automakers have publicly stated. However, over the last month several automakers have said the transition from gasoline to electric vehicles (EVs) will need to slow down, in part citing demand.
It’s important to understand two facts driving this flurry of pessimistic press. First, while overall EV sales are up compared to last year, there are short-term sales dynamics negatively impacting some, but certainly not all, EV makers. Second, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in the process of setting regulations for future ... Read more ...
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Considering An EV and Live in a Rural Area? Here are Five Things to Know About Charging - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Nov 9) |
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Nov 9 · Interest in electric vehicles (EVs) is strong among U.S. drivers - including drivers who live in rural areas. That’s great news because swapping gasoline and diesel vehicles for EVs is an essential strategy to reduce local air pollution and climate change emissions from transportation.
One factor helping rural interest is the increasing variety in available electric models, including models that can meet the mobility and utility demands of rural drivers. Even for people who love their trucks, there are now multiple pickup options to choose from.
Rural drivers tend to put their vehicles through intense use on a regular basis, relative to drivers in more populous areas. ... Read more ...
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Automakers Opt Out of Cleaning Up Their Vehicles…But at What Cost? - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Nov 9) |
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Nov 9 · The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently proposed new fuel economy standards that, together with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) greenhouse gas emissions standards, are meant to continue to reduce fuel use from new passenger vehicles. The fuel economy program, known as CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) because it considers the “average” fuel economy of a manufacturer’s new vehicle fleet, has resulted in over $5 trillion in fuel savings over its nearly 50-year history. However, it does have one shortcoming that has gotten some press recently: automakers can buy their way out of compliance with the regulations, choosing to simply pay ... Read more ...
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How are EV batteries (actually) recycled? - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Oct 25) |
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Oct 25 · Electric Vehicle (EV) battery recycling is crucial to a sustainable, electrified transportation system. A substantial portion of key minerals for electrifying could come from recycled batteries by 2050, dramatically reducing the need for new mining.
But how those batteries are recycled can make a big difference - we must use recycling processes with high mineral recovery rates and lower environmental impact. In this blog post, I’ll explain different ways to recycle batteries and why getting it right is essential.
The three types of recycling, summarized here, are discussed later in greater depth, including the pre-processing that must occur before recycling. This ... Read more ...
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Transition to EVs: a Win for Climate; Let’s Make it a Win for US Workers - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Oct 24) |
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Oct 24 · A global transition to electric transportation is underway and momentum is growing. Traditional and new auto manufacturers are bringing more and more models to market. Even in California, where a tradition of stringent regulation has pushed the industry to innovate over the past 50 years, automakers are selling EVs at levels well above sales requirements. This momentum is spreading across the country with US EV sales now over 9% and climbing.
When a change as big as this is underway, it’s important to understand what impact it can have on employment and to take steps to ensure that workers benefit from the transition and aren’t left behind.
But what is the outlook for ... Read more ...
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Electric Vehicle Sales in US Hit the Accelerator Pedal - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Sep 22) |
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Sep 22 · With more electric vehicle choices than ever, EV sales in the US are hitting new heights. In just the first half of 2023, over 670,000 EVs were sold with over 80 percent of those fully-electric battery electric vehicles (BEVs). It took 8 years for the first million EV sales – but now more than a million have been sold in just the past 12 months.
Several factors are likely responsible for EVs hitting a tipping point in sales. More EV models are now available, from small cars to pickup trucks, meaning more buyers have an electric option that meets their needs. More widespread adoption of EVs across the US is also a factor. We’re seeing EV sales increase outside of California, ... Read more ...
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Ask a Scientist: It’s Getting Easier for US Car Owners to Go Electric - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Sep 15) |
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Sep 15 · Since the beginning of 2022, electric vehicle sales in the United States have been downright electrifying.
Last year, US drivers bought more than 800,000 new electric vehicles (EVs), 65 percent more than in 2021, even as overall car sales declined. Those 807,956 EVs accounted for 5.8 percent of all new cars sold, an increase from 3.1 percent in 2021.
Thanks largely to federal tax incentives, lower sticker prices, and more available models, EV sales have continued to surge in 2023. The 554,140 EVs sold during the first and second quarter of this year represent nearly a 50 percent jump from the first half of 2021, and sales are on pace to surpass a record-breaking 1 ... Read more ...
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Where Do Electric Trucks Charge? - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Aug 29) |
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Aug 29 · We are about to enter the era of the electric truck. Sure, there are already a few thousand electric trucks and buses on US roads already. Now, with the California Air Resources Board’s passage of the Advanced Clean Fleets Rule in May and with the potential for a (hopefully) stronger-than-proposed greenhouse gas standard for heavy-duty trucks passed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the coming months, we will begin to see a significant switch from highly-polluting diesel trucks to zero-emission trucks. Those zero emission trucks can’t come soon enough. Communities that have been suffering from disproportionate exposure to transportation pollution, including diesel ... Read more ...
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California Must Extend Zero Emission Vehicle Funding from “AB 8 Fees” - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Aug 28) |
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Aug 28 · If you have been in a Sacramento coffee shop over the past few years, you have probably heard something about AB 8 reauthorization, AQIP, CPT, or EFMP.
Unless you are a clean transportation wonk or are in a deeply sad place with your social life, you probably don’t know what the heck that alphabet soup means, so let me translate.
For California to achieve its climate goals and federal air quality obligations, the state legislature must approve the extension of a modest portion of vehicle registration fees (called “AB 8 Fees”). These fees generate more than $100 million per year to fund zero emission vehicle (ZEV) incentives, electric vehicle chargers and hydrogen fueling ... Read more ...
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In California, Car Buyers Are Choosing Electricity Over Gasoline in Record Numbers - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Aug 6) |
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Aug 6 · The latest new car sales numbers are in, and California has hit a new milestone on the path to electrification: 1 in 4 new cars sold in California in the second quarter of 2023 were plug-in electric cars and trucks.
Another sign of the rapid changes occurring is that for the first time Tesla was the top selling brand in California, edging out Toyota for the top spot. The Tesla Model Y was also the top-selling model of car or truck in California, more than doubling the sales of the best-selling gasoline car (Toyota Camry) and truck/SUV (Toyota RAV4).
While the overall statewide sales of electric vehicles is impressive, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area region is moving ... Read more ...
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New Choices for Cleaner EVs (And Some Room for Improvement) - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Aug 2) |
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Aug 2 · How much cleaner is it to drive an electric vehicle (EV) versus a gasoline vehicle?
This is a common question for drivers and car buyers, and one we’ve been answering for quite a while. It’s a complicated question, in part because electricity generation varies across the US and also because some EVs are more efficient than others.
To help drivers look at the options, we’ve updated our tool that lets you look at the emissions from driving different models of EVs in different parts of the country.
This tool compares the climate-changing emissions from electric vehicles to gasoline-powered cars by analyzing all the emissions from fueling and driving both types of ... Read more ...
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Despite Potential to Electrify 90 Percent of Routes, USPS Still Plans to Deliver Pollution with the Mail - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Jul 24) |
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Jul 24 · With over 250,000 vehicles in service, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has one the world’s largest truck fleets. Over the past several years, the USPS worked to plan the replacement of its aging delivery truck fleet with a mix of both electric and combustion vehicles. If electric delivery vehicle deployment is maximized, this transition could have significant positive impacts on both air quality and the larger adoption of commercial electric vehicles.
I’ve blogged in detail about this effort, focusing mainly on the severe analytical shortcomings in the Postal Service’s 2021 study of air quality, climate, economic, and technological aspects of the new fleet of vehicles, ... Read more ...
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Decarbonizing Transportation Must Come with People-Powered Mobility Justice - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Jul 19) |
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Jul 19 · Over the last decade we have often been promised a better, cleaner, greener mobility future. New ride hailing services (e.g., Uber founded in 2009; Lyft in 2012), public micromobility systems such as scooters and bikeshares, electrification, shared automated vehicles: all came with the promise of “faster, smarter, greener” cities that would be “connected, heterogenous, intelligent and personalized.” New narratives, startups, and mobility experiments were based on great optimism about electric, digital, autonomous, hybrid, micro, or even aerial (drone) mobilities. Former chief engineer for the New York City Department of Transportation Sam Schwartz promised “the rise of cities and ... Read more ...
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Three Reasons the Market is Primed for Stronger, National Electric Truck Standards - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Jul 19) |
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Jul 19 · Over the past year, we’ve seen significant momentum toward an era of zero-emission trucks and buses. Perhaps most notable were California’s adoption of the world’s first economy-wide zero emission truck and bus fleet standard and the first nationwide purchase incentives for zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). While both actions will stimulate the market for zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and lead to accelerated adoption, much more work needs to be done to get us on track to a more equitable zero-emission future.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently developing a regulation to reduce climate-warming ... Read more ...
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Transforming Transportation: Opportunity for a Sustainable and Equitable Electric Future - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (May 08, 2023) |
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May 08, 2023 · Electric transportation is essential for a cleaner and healthier world. Replacing gasoline vehicles with electric can reduce emissions that cause climate change and illnesses. Researchers like me are putting a microscope to the electric vehicles (EVs) because, as with any extraction and manufacturing, there are associated impacts. We are specifically looking at the social and environmental impacts of mining and processing the minerals that are used in the batteries powering these vehicles, buses, bikes, and scooters.
While this may seem obvious, some news coverage on EV mineral impacts have not accurately portrayed this motivation. In many cases the problems associated with EV ... Read more ...
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Clean Fleets Rule Slated to Deliver Healthier Air for Californians - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (May 04, 2023) |
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May 04, 2023 · In the coming years, Californians will begin to see a massive switch away from highly polluting fossil-fueled trucks to zero-emission electric trucks.
Why? Because last week, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) made history by unanimously adopting what is perhaps the most transformative clean trucks regulation ever considered - the Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) rule. This rule creates the first-ever, economy-wide, zero-emission standard for large truck fleets. The rule will apply to commercial, federal, state, municipal, and drayage fleets. Additionally, the rule phases out the sale of fossil-fueled trucks in 2036.
Trucks and buses on California’s roads and highways ... Read more ...
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Californians Embrace Zero-Emission Vehicles with Record Sales - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (May 03, 2023) |
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May 03, 2023 · Sales of new zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) in California hit new highs in the first quarter of 2023.
According to the California Energy Commission, more than one in five of all new passenger cars and trucks sold in the state at the start of this year was a zero-emission vehicle, which includes plug-in hybrids, battery electric, or fuel cell electric vehicles. More than 16 percent of new cars sold this year are fully electric plug-ins. These sales statistics build on last year’s strong EV sales when the statewide average was 19 percent ZEV sales.
To date, more than 1.5 million ZEVs have been sold in California.
EVs are popular new cars in both Southern and ... Read more ...
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California Ready to Take Giant Leap Toward Zero-Emission Trucks - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Apr 19, 2023) |
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Apr 19, 2023 · In late April, California air regulators are poised to pass one of the most meaningful regulations to reduce pollution from commercial trucks, vans, and buses.
The Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) rule, which I’ve blogged about in detail before, will phase out fossil-fueled trucks over the next several decades. This rule expands the benefits of the landmark Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule, which compelled manufacturers to sell an increasing number of zero-emission trucks, by requiring that nearly all new medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs) sold in the state be free of tailpipe emissions by 2036.
Together, these standards will accelerate California’s necessary transition ... Read more ...
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EVs Critical Solution For Climate Crisis, But Biden Administration Stopping Short on Trucks - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Apr 13, 2023) |
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Apr 13, 2023 · Transportation is the largest source of global warming emissions in the United States, making it a critical piece of the puzzle to addressing climate change. Every new vehicle sold today could be on the road for two or even three decades, which means that achieving a goal for 2050 requires immediate action. This is what makes yesterday’s action by the Biden administration so critical - EPA proposed new emissions targets for both passenger vehicles and heavy-duty trucks manufactured and sold through 2032 that will accelerate the transition to electrification already underway.
Electrifying transportation is a necessary component of addressing climate change. But it also ... Read more ...
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Why Do We Need EV Battery Recycling Policy? - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Mar 29, 2023) |
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Mar 29, 2023 · Our petroleum-based transportation system has led to health and climate impacts felt throughout the world. Electrifying transportation is a valuable tool we can use to reduce those impacts. This transition will require an increase of minerals used in batteries that power our electric vehicles (EVs), trucks, and buses.
When these electric transportation modes retire, the batteries’ usefulness continues. Even with diminished capacity, they can be reused, refurbished, or repurposed and then eventually recycled. The materials recovered from recycling can be used to manufacture new batteries, therefore reducing the amount of newly mined materials necessary to meet upcoming mineral ... Read more ...
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Xcel Energy Sets Big Vision for EV Charging in Minnesota - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Mar 28, 2023) |
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Mar 28, 2023 · Xcel Energy came forward last year with its biggest electric vehicle (EV) charging proposal yet in Minnesota, and the proceeding to consider that proposal at the Public Utilities Commission is well underway. Electric utilities across the United States, such as Xcel, have been offering EV charging programs for quite some time now. Those programs include incentives and other forms of support for charging infrastructure, electricity rates and other vehicle-grid integration programs for EVs, technical assistance, and more. Xcel’s current proposal includes all of these elements, plus some additional ones.
Xcel Energy came forward last year with its biggest electric vehicle (EV) ... Read more ...
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Lessons Learned from Philadelphia Refinery Closure - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Mar 27, 2023) |
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Mar 27, 2023 · The petroleum era is drawing inevitably to a close. Over the next few decades most of the oil refineries in the United States will close. Car companies are quickly shifting their focus to electric vehicles (EVs), and as new EVs replace older gasoline cars, demand for gasoline and diesel will decline, slowly at first and then more quickly. Based on a recent UCS study of this transition, half of the oil refineries in the US are likely to close in the next 20 years, and half of the remaining refineries will close within a decade after that.
Refineries are major sources of pollution, and the petroleum-based gasoline, diesel and jet fuels they produce are the largest source of ... Read more ...
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Today’s Electric Vehicles Can Greatly Reduce Emissions From Driving - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Mar 20, 2023) |
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Mar 20, 2023 · Transportation is the largest source of global warming emissions in the US and the passenger vehicles many of us drive are responsible for the majority of transportation global warming emissions. Avoiding the worst impacts of climate change will require the rapid reduction in these emissions from the vehicles we drive. Electric vehicles (EVs) can eliminate tailpipe emissions altogether and are also more efficient than gasoline vehicles making EVs an important technology for reducing both global-warming and harmful air pollution from personal transportation.
In 2022, my colleagues and I analyzed the global warming emissions benefits of electric cars and trucks in our report ... Read more ...
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Survey Shows Pathway To Speeding Up EV Adoption in Rural Areas - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Mar 14, 2023) |
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Mar 14, 2023 · Regardless of where we live, we should all have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits provided by electric vehicles. These benefits range from the reduced cost of operation, the reduced need for maintenance and the improved performance, to the fact that electric vehicles have no tailpipe emissions. Everybody’s health stands to gain from reducing local air pollution from tailpipes: communities located near roads, families getting into a car in their garage, children boarding a school bus, and anybody in the vicinity of an idling vehicle. The planet stands to gain too, as EVs emit about half the global warming emissions of a comparable gasoline-powered vehicle, and transportation is ... Read more ...
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Guiding Principles for EV Battery Recycling Policy - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Feb 27, 2023) |
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Feb 27, 2023 · Electrifying our transportation system is essential for mitigating emissions that cause climate change and adverse health impacts. This electrification will require a lot more batteries and therefore a lot more minerals. Recovering these materials from retired electric vehicle (EV) batteries is an alternative source to mining. Essentially, the materials recovered through battery recycling can replace future material supply that would otherwise need to be extracted from the earth to meet demand.
Estimates show that in 2050, the United States can meet about half of EV demand for cobalt and nickel and a quarter of lithium with minerals recovered through recycling. While EVs ... Read more ...
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Dear Maryland: It’s Time to Drive Clean Trucks and Buses - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Feb 22, 2023) |
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Feb 22, 2023 · I love living in Maryland. We’re living in a historical moment, and I can’t help but do a lil’ happy dance around the possibilities of the new administration and the groundwork laid by the Climate Solutions Now Act which set some of the most ambitious climate targets in the country. Amid all this I’m grateful that part of my job is to spend my time advocating for how it can make these goals a reality - to transform the way we move people and goods towards a sustainable and equitable future.
Every soul walking this earth deserves to breathe clean air, and folks in Maryland are no exception. Still though, counties across the state have air that hasn’t met the Environmental ... Read more ...
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New York City May Soon Set the Pace for Municipal Vehicle Electrification - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Feb 10, 2023) |
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Feb 10, 2023 · California is rarely outshined as the leader when it comes to transportation electrification. However, the New York City Council is considering a bill that would codify a path toward a 100 percent zero-emission municipal fleet. This proposal would require the city’s entire on-road fleet, including heavy-duty trucks and specialty vehicles, to transition to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by mid-2035.
The bill currently enjoys significant tailwinds with a supermajority of council members not only signaling support but co-sponsoring the bill (37 of 51 members to be exact). If enacted, Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council would not only surpass former Mayor De Blasio’s goal of an ... Read more ...
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What Can We Learn From the EU Battery Law? - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Feb 02, 2023) |
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Feb 02, 2023 · Last December, the European Union (EU) agreed on a comprehensive battery policy that aims to make electric vehicles (EVs) more sustainable. Included in the regulation are requirements for mineral sourcing, life cycle emissions, information sharing, and recycling. These regulations set a precedent for battery policy; an area where the US needs to do more.
The US doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel here - many of these policies can and should be implemented domestically.
The EU is transitioning away from gasoline vehicles because of their significant contribution to climate change and adverse health impacts– transitioning to EVs offers an attractive solution. EVs have ... Read more ...
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Federal Progress on EV Charging in 2022 - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Dec 23, 2022) |
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Dec 23, 2022 · As we bid farewell to 2022 and look forward to 2023, I’ve been reflecting on progress made in the past year, particularly in the implementation of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. We had a strong start to 2022 when the Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration released guidance to states in February, reflecting many UCS recommendations. The Federal Highway Administration also designated a sixth round of Alternate Fuel Corridors in July, prioritizing more miles of highway on which to prioritize investments in EV charging through the NEVI Program as well as other investments in alternative fueling infrastructure.
Revisiting ... Read more ...
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The EPA’s New Truck Rule Is a Modest Step When What Is Needed Is a Giant Leap - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Dec 20, 2022) |
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Dec 20, 2022 · It has taken over 20 years, but EPA has finalized its next step in reducing pollution from new trucks. Unfortunately, it falls short of what states are already doing. On paper it may appear to align with aspects of the most stringent option considered by the agency in its proposal, but many of the finalized changes in enforcement and flexibility significantly undermine the effective stringency of the rule. One particularly notable adjustment reflects a direct request from truck manufacturers, who (as noted previously) have been intensely engaged in a battle to weaken the rule as part of an ongoing war against pollution regulations that undermines the lip service the companies give ... Read more ...
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Truck Loopholes 101 – When Emissions Regulations Don’t Match the Real World - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Dec 15, 2022) |
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Dec 15, 2022 · The EPA is getting ready to finalize a critical regulation limiting emissions of smog-forming nitrogen oxide (NOX) and soot (or particulate matter, PM2.5) from new heavy-duty trucks. This is the first time EPA has sought to limit emissions in over two decades, and it is long overdue.
Unfortunately, one of the reasons the regulations have failed has to do with how manufacturers’ compliance with those regulations plays out in the real world. With inadequate measures to curb on-road emissions compared to lab tests, EPA shifted the burden from manufacturers to the communities where those “flexibilities” in the regulation played out in the form of increased asthma, premature death, ... Read more ...
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Why UCS Supporters Are Pressing EPA to Let California Enforce Its Truck Pollution Rules - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Dec 01, 2022) |
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Dec 01, 2022 · California has a longstanding leadership role on transportation pollution, and the Clean Air Act grants the state the right to set strong vehicle emissions standards. In order to enforce those standards, the state must be granted a waiver by the Environmental Protection Agency, something which Congress makes very clear should be given under virtually all conditions.
California’s leadership on reducing truck pollution has been on full display the past few years, passing critical regulations requiring 90 percent reduction in smog-forming nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions from diesel trucks and requiring manufacturers sell an increasing share of electric trucks to move away from ... Read more ...
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The Electric Cars of the Future Are Already Here Today - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Nov 30, 2022) |
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Nov 30, 2022 · I recently had the chance to visit the Los Angeles Auto Show and I was amazed at the number of electric vehicle (EV) offerings. The first time I had visited the show in 2015, there were only a handful of EVs scattered among hundreds of gasoline cars and trucks, while this year many automakers had EVs front and center in their displays.
One constant in auto shows is the display of concept cars and prototypes. In prior years, the EV “cars of the future” often outnumbered the EVs that were actually for sale at dealers.
However, most of the EVs at the show were vehicles currently on sale and represented a wide range of vehicles. There are several crossover SUV models now ... Read more ...
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Why New DOE Battery Recycling and Repurposing Investments Are Crucial to The Future of EVs - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Nov 21, 2022) |
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Nov 21, 2022 · It’s been one year since passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which included provisions to further clean transportation. Importantly, the BIL invests in electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling and repurposing– important strategies for increasing the sustainability of EVs.
The Department of Energy recently announced 10 recycling and repurposing projects that will receive a total of $73.9 million in funding. These projects could be key contributors to the technological innovation and scale up necessary to increase domestic recycling and make second-life stationary storage more accessible.
Currently, transportation is the largest contributor to ... Read more ...
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Are There Enough Materials to Manufacture All the Electric Vehicles Needed? - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Nov 15, 2022) |
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Nov 15, 2022 · The short answer is yes. But this is a complicated question, so let’s dig in further.
The transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is necessary to decrease climate-changing emissions. As deployment increases, so will the demand for EV battery materials such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel. These materials are primarily supplied through two sources: 1) newly mined or 2) recovered by recycling batteries already in circulation.
Using recycled materials results in significantly less environmental impacts and is a substitute for those newly mined, although it requires the materials to have already been extracted, manufactured into a battery, and then retired from use.
This ... Read more ...
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California Needs to Focus on Electrifying Big Rigs - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Oct 21, 2022) |
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Oct 21, 2022 · The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is currently considering one of the most critical rules for air quality and climate change in many, many years. This regulation, called the Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) rule, has the potential to deliver significant reductions in both air and climate-warming pollutants by requiring the state’s largest and most profitable commercial and public fleets to transition to electric trucks, vans, and buses over time, beginning in 2024. To accomplish that, however, the rule needs to adequately address the most polluting trucks – Class 7 and 8 tractor trucks. Those are the trucks most people might refer to as big rigs, semis, and ... Read more ...
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Changes to California’s Electric Truck Proposal Could Reap Huge Climate and Air Quality Gains - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Oct 13, 2022) |
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Oct 13, 2022 · California has made significant strides towards reducing pollution from vehicles by adopting trailblazing policies to accelerate the adoption of both passenger and heavy-duty zero-emissions vehicles. The state is continuing this momentum by developing an ambitious regulation to require the state’s largest medium- and heavy-duty (MHD) commercial fleets to begin transitioning to electric trucks in 2024, eventually requiring 100 percent of MHD vehicles purchased by large commercial and public fleets that operate in the state to be zero-emissions in 2042. This new regulation would apply to delivery vans, big rigs, box trucks, and buses.
The Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) rule has the ... Read more ...
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Battery State of Health – What is It? Why is It Important? - Union of Concerned Scientists - Vehicles (Oct 06, 2022) |
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Oct 06, 2022 · Lithium-ion batteries are efficient, compact, and have a long lifespan – all factors that enable electric vehicles (EVs), which are powered by these batteries, to be a great substitute for their gasoline counterpart. Transportation is a large contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. By switching to EVs, and away from these highly polluting gasoline vehicles, a huge reduction in planet-warming emissions is possible.
While these batteries are revolutionary, they don’t last forever. As years pass, and as the batteries charge and discharge, their storage capacity begins to slowly reduce. This is a normal process that is influenced by factors such as temperature, number of cycles, ... Read more ...
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