Electric cars and particulate matter: how do they go together?
Air pollution has been with us since the beginning of industrialisation. It is omnipresent, especially in cities. However, with technological progress and the relocation of factories away from city centres, air quality has improved in most wealthy countries. A major source of air pollution, the internal combustion engine, seems to be slowly being replaced by electric cars. But are electric cars really the environmentally friendly alternative they appear to be?
With electric cars, air pollution from the engine is reduced to zero. But there are other factors that need to be taken into account. Electric cars are on average 400 kilograms heavier than conventional cars. This leads to greater tyre wear and therefore more particulate matter in the air. Some experts, including the then British Environment Minister George Eustice, were sceptical about the improvement in air quality brought about by electric cars.
The debate about particulate pollution from electric cars is primarily based on data from the company Emissions Analytics. Its founder, Nick Molden, claims that particulate emissions from electric cars could be 1,850 times higher than those from modern combustion engines. However, these tests have not been verified by independent scientists and the results are disputed by the industry.
It is important to note that particulate matter is not only produced by electric cars. All vehicles, whether powered by petrol, diesel or electricity, produce particulate matter through tyre wear. It is still unclear whether the higher weight of electric cars leads to higher levels of particulate matter. According to the German tyre manufacturer Continental, other factors such as driving style and road conditions are more decisive for tyre wear and thus for the production of particulate matter.
What does this mean for environmental zones and air quality? If the findings of Emissions Analytics are confirmed, this could lead to increased particulate matter pollution in cities where electric cars are increasingly being used. This would have a direct impact on air quality and could necessitate the establishment and expansion of low emission zones.
The discussion about the environmental impact of electric cars shows that it is necessary to look at the big picture. It is not enough just to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Other environmental factors such as particulate pollution must also be taken into account in order to achieve truly sustainable mobility.