Lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles are both their biggest plus and most dangerous threat – to owners and the environment. Last Thursday, ABC AM interviewed Catriona Lowe, deputy chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, to discuss the fire risk of battery charging. She was speaking after an electric scooter exploded in a fireball Read more
The expected commencement of industrial-scale deep-sea mining for metals in the Pacific Ocean has been put on hold following opposition from environmental organisations and several nations. The metals are used in car batteries. The International Seabed Authority (ISA), a United Nations body that administers vast mining-licence areas in international waters, announced the need for additional Read more
Human rights abuses and environmental violations have been uncovered in the Philippines and Indonesian nickel supply chains, a major component of electric vehicle (EV) batteries. A report released by the London-based Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) revealed that these supply chains provide batteries to major companies such as Panasonic, Tesla and Toyota. The Read more
Manufacturers of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) make various claims about their vehicles’ fuel use. Some say it’s very low and provide numbers to prove it. Consumer NZ, with support from Te Manatū Waka–Ministry of Transport, decided to investigate to see if these suggestions were true. They assessed fuel use in five PHEVs and five Read more
In June 2022, an EV Mercedes drove from Germany to the UK on a single charge, travelling more than 1,200km (750 miles) without needing to stop. The average petrol- or diesel-powered car would have had to refill its tank three times on the same journey, though there was a catch. The electric vehicle was a Read more
In the same week the Government unveiled its Emissions Reduction Plan, I faced a moral dilemma as I traded in my vehicle for a fresh set of wheels. Do I blithely bow to the climate zeitgeist and plump for a plug-in? Do I take a bet each way on a hybrid? Or do I go Read more
One of the authors of a recent paper comparing the costs and emissions of electric and petrol-powered cars in Aotearoa New Zealand, Associate Professor Ralph Chapman, says a “blind, headlong rush to electric vehicles is pretty myopic”. “We shouldn’t delude ourselves electric cars are good. They’re just not as problematic as what I call ‘fossil Read more