It seems almost daily we hear about either how EVs are going to save the planet, or how they’re supposedly no better than the dino burners they’re supposed to displace. There are so many factions trying to protect or advance their interests in the transportation and energy spaces that it can be difficult to know what claims are true, which to take with a grain of salt, and which to dismiss outright. Let’s take a few moments to examine a few key considerations regarding future personal transportation, along with how we might be able to improve the outlook.

Let's bust some myths:

1. EVs don’t emit any less than ICE vehicles.

This claim has been circulating around for a while now, and tends to be a favourite parroting point for some of the most ardent EV opponents. While there are a couple nuggets of truth burried within, it shouldn’t take much thought to realize that as a whole it’s a fairly ludicrous claim. It usually amounts to an author making the assumption that an EV needs to be fully charged from empty on a daily basis, the local power production being almost entirely coal based, and fairly lossy transmission and charging estimates to be used. While there certainly are situations where an EV won’t produce stellar improvements on its own if several of these negatives are at play in your area, there are still some gains to be made in almost all cases, and transitioning to EVs allows the transportation grid to become largely energy agnostic and become cleaner over time as electricity production sources are improved and replaced without requiring any further transportation infrastructure overhauls after electric conversion.

2. Battery production is polluting and going to cause problems

There is some truth to this. Lithium extraction is not an impact free process, and must be managed to avoid environmental problems. That said, the reality is that even when including the higher carbon footprint for manufacturing EVs compared to ICE vehicles, the EVs carbon footprint remains much lower over the entire lifecycle. And we can improve that fairly significantly in ways we will discuss a little later.

3. The electric grid can’t handle everyone charging an EV

Similar to the emissions argument this argument is typically centered around some back of the napkin math assuming a full charge daily, and everyone plugging in at the same time. When spread out over the course of the day, typical power usage of an EV should not be a massive strain. We may need to figure ways to have chargers communicate or sense grid status in some way to avoid peaks being too problematic. The consideration that should come out of this though, is that if our current transportation realities require more energy than we can manage we need to look at how to both reduce those needs and make transportation more energy efficient. More on both of those considerations later.

Ok. EVs aren’t the devils the fossil fuel industry makes them out to be, but they aren’t the instant planet saviours some think either. How do we either make them better, or utilize them better in conjunction with other approaches?

1. We should be building EVs with smaller batteries.

I get it, you’re used to having to go to the gas station when you get low, and you envision regular road trips with long legs of driving. EVs are not the same as gas vehicles though, and we need to look at them differently and adjust their design and manufacture to suit their strengths rather than try to fit them into the mold of the traditional dino burner.

First, consider how often you’re really going to the gas station. For most of us it’s often once a week or less. Now consider that you’re able to charge daily at home and start each day with a full “tank” without that annoying stop at the gas station. You don’t need the same range to meet your daily transportation needs. If we embrace that fact we can produce EVs with smaller battery capacities that could start to push up against the weights of, or even become lighter than their gas counterparts instead of hauling hundreds of pounds of battery around. That makes a more efficient and better performing vehicle, reduces the impact of battery production, and keeps charge times low.

But what about road trips?!

Ok, I hear you, and there’s a few considerations and approaches we can take on that end:

i) With small battery packs charge times can be extremely quick. If charge times can be consistently under 15 minutes (Very doable with a smaller pack), would stopping to stretch your legs or having an opportunity to use the washroom every couple hours be an extreme inconvenience? From my own experiences traveling with groups, while driving longer periods is doable regular short stops are welcome breaks

ii) Modular/extendable batteries: Why carry around the extra weight every day when you only need it for longer drives. As people we utilize options like backpacks, duffel bags, etc when we occasionally need to carry more. The same can be done for vehicles. EVs can and should be designed to have modular batteries that can have storage added when needed either directly, or through options like a tow behind trailer that could be rented for your twice yearly road trips to see Grandma. There are a multitude of ways this can be accomplished, and many of them could add other niceties and amenities to the process. What about pre-charged trailers that can be swapped at each leg of a trip and avoid “refueling” time altogether? What about one that adds a luggage compartment to improve leg space for your passengers? The sky is the limit and I leave it to your imagination to envision the number of ways something like this could be accomplished.

2. Reduce the need for personal vehicle use and use EVs to fill the gaps rather than prioritize them.

I get it. The automobile has been used as a symbol of freedom and autonomy for most of your life. Before continuing, I want to ensure you that I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t be allowed to own a car or to drive when you want. What I AM suggesting is that at present you NEED to have a car and have no reasonable freedom to decide otherwise, and that’s diametrically opposed to what we think the car stands for. You shouldn’t HAVE to take a car for every trip you want to take. Children and teenagers should have spaces they can exist in without relying on parents to ferry them around. Simply grabbing a carton of milk shouldn’t REQUIRE a car. The reality is that continued automotive-centric city design is killing our communities and bankrupting our cities. If we start building our cities with walkability, public transit, cycling, and other alternatives in mind then having an EV is a nicety for making your weekly grocery run convenient rather than a daily necessity to plan society around. And it comes with the added benefit of building COMMUNITIES again where you can get to know your neighbors and let your kids run free. I know that sounds nicer to me.