The revolution in mobility and car manufacturing will come through electric cars and hydrogen cars. Both technologies offer at least two major advantages over traditional internal combustion engine vehicles: greater efficiency and lower emissions.
However, there is no shortage of critical issues, both with electric car technology and with hydrogen technology.
Overview of electric cars
Electric cars are only as clean as their source of electricity.
This is sometimes underestimated. A widespread adoption of electric cars without the development of electricity generation infrastructure partly cancels out the benefits of electric power. It is a fact, however, that in everyday use electric cars are generally cleaner than internal combustion engines.
Besides their power source, electric cars can also have a negative impact on the environment during the production of the vehicle and its batteries and in the recycling of its components, not to mention that the extraction of many of the raw materials raises both ethical and environmental problems.
Sales of battery electric cars (BEVs) are rising across Europe and, according to the annual Global Electric Vehicle Outlook, more are now sold every week than in the whole of 2012.
The electric car is quiet, smooth and efficient, with a range of up to 500 km or more between charges. The purchase cost of electric cars today is substantially comparable to that of conventional cars, and the major manufacturers forecast that prices will fall, even considerably, in the coming years. However, beware of maintenance over the years, which could be more expensive because of the need to replace the battery.
