[The Editors' Verdict] Are Electric Vehicles Really Eco-Friendly?

Lim Juhwan, Advisor at Korea Information and Communication Industry Research Institute

Electric vehicles (EVs) promoting eco-friendliness are a hot topic in response to greenhouse gases. The market capitalization of Tesla, a leading American EV company, is comparable to the total market capitalization of all listed automobile companies worldwide. The fact that Tesla sold only 500,000 electric cars last year and continued to incur losses since its founding, only turning a profit last year, does not seem to be an issue.

So, are electric vehicles truly eco-friendly? EVs do not emit carbon dioxide while driving. However, a significant amount of carbon dioxide is generated during the electricity production process used to charge EVs. In South Korea, 66% of electricity production relies on fossil fuel-based thermal power, while the use of eco-friendly renewable energy accounts for only 5%. Considering how electricity is generated in South Korea, it is not accurate to blindly regard EVs as eco-friendly. The Korean Society of Automotive Engineers has also announced that when considering the entire lifecycle of EVs?including production, operation, and disposal?they emit about 70% of the carbon dioxide compared to internal combustion engine vehicles and release a similar level of fine dust. Like internal combustion vehicles, EVs emit fine dust due to brake pad and tire wear, which accounts for about 90% of airborne fine dust originating from tires and brakes.

Hydrogen vehicles are also a focus in terms of eco-friendly cars. Hydrogen vehicles do not emit harmful gases during operation. Since hydrogen vehicles use electricity generated by fuel cells, the accurate term is hydrogen electric vehicles. Fuel cells produce electricity through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, generating water and a small amount of heat in the process. However, fuel cells incur about a 46% energy loss during this process. Additionally, hydrogen is fundamentally produced based on fossil fuels. The two types of hydrogen fuel are by-product hydrogen, produced as a by-product of petrochemical processes, and reformed hydrogen, extracted from liquefied natural gas (LNG). It is known that producing one ton of reformed hydrogen emits about 10 tons of carbon dioxide. Both by-product hydrogen and reformed hydrogen are associated with carbon dioxide emissions and are collectively referred to as gray hydrogen. Green hydrogen, which is eco-friendly, can be produced by water electrolysis, but this requires a large amount of electricity, causing another problem.

This does not mean that EVs are ineffective in reducing greenhouse gases. The problem lies in South Korea’s electricity production methods. If electricity is produced in an eco-friendly way, EVs are eco-friendly; if electricity is produced based on fossil fuels, there is little difference from internal combustion engine vehicles. To widely adopt EVs, a change in South Korea’s electricity production methods must come first.

Recently, the government set a carbon neutrality plan for 2050, with a key measure to expand solar power generation. The plan aims to reduce the share of coal power from the current 28.1% to 15% by 2034 and increase renewable energy such as solar and wind power to 40%. However, looking at the reality of solar power businesses, the economic feasibility of solar power is very low. The number of domestic solar power operators increased more than threefold from 21,200 in 2017 to 60,000 as of last December, while the spot price of solar power electricity dropped by 55% over two years. It takes 14 years just to recover facility investment costs. The electricity produced by 60,000 commercial solar power plants from 2015 to last year is similar to that of one Shin-Kori Nuclear Power Plant Unit 4, but the construction cost differs by a factor of five. A major transformation in electricity production methods is needed for EVs to fulfill their intended role.