We Love to Travel:
Energy for Electric Cars - Activity :Key
Even electric cars need energy. The energy comes from the chemical potential energy stored in batteries. The energy within the batteries is from domestic electrical outlets in the home or garage, or from special "quick charge" service stations on the highways.

The energy conversion process is not 100% efficient. The efficiency cycle of chemical storage batteries is variable, but 80% is typical, meaning that 20% of the energy used to charge the battery is lost during the charge-discharge cycle as heat.

Assignment

  1. Use the Electricity to CO2 chart to determine the amount of carbon dioxide produced in the generation of electricity in your region.
    In this example Ontario is selected since it has the largest diversity of electrical power generation.
    From the Electricity to CO2 chart we see that Ontario electricity generates (on average) 46kg of carbon dioxide for each 100kWh of electrical energy produced.

  2. An electric vehicle uses 25 kWh per 100km. How much electrical energy is required to drive 400km?
    Answer: 100kWh to drive 400km

  3. How much carbon dioxide is produced (in your region) to drive the electric car (from the previous question) 400 km?
    Answer: for Ontario this would yield 46kg of carbon dioxide.

  4. How much carbon dioxide is produced (in your region) to drive the electric car (from the previous question) 4000 km?
    Answer: for Ontario this would yield 460kg of carbon dioxide.

  5. The annual use of an electric car totals 10 000km. How much carbon dioxide is produced?
    Answer*: 10 000km requires 2500kWh of electrical energy. In Ontario this would yield 1150kg of carbon dioxide.

Things for students to consider (and ponder) about electric vehicles

* Compare the amount of carbon dioxide generated in order to provide energy for an electric car (battery powered) to the amount of carbon dioxide produced by an efficient gasoline powered economy car (as shown in the previous activity).

It is surprising that both cars, electric and gasoline, produce almost equal amounts of CO2 (at least in Ontario).

  • How does this result vary from province to province?
  • Why does this result vary from province to province?
  • Do all electric vehicles require batteries?
  • What is the environmental impact of battery technology, i.e. their manufacture, use, and disposal?
YES I Can! Science