The Future of Transportation in the World and the UK?

The Future of Transportation in the World and the UK: An Analysis of the Environmental and Economic Costs of EVs, Hydrogen, Internal Combustion Engines and Solar.

The transportation sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and the UK government has introduced policies to incentivize the adoption of more sustainable modes of transportation. Electric vehicles (EVs) and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) have emerged as promising alternatives to traditional internal combustion engines (ICEs). However, each mode of transportation comes with its unique environmental and economic challenges that must be considered, worldwide.

Let me make this clear as an electrical contractor I earn money from the installation of EV points, but I also have a duty of care to look at the ramifications of different forms of transport not only from my point of view but from a business point of view and these are some the conclusions I have come to below: -

Environmental Hazards of EVs and FCVs

The production of EV batteries and hydrogen fuel cells requires rare earth elements such as neodymium, dysprosium, and praseodymium. The mining of these elements can have significant environmental and human impacts, including water pollution, soil contamination, and health hazards to workers. The extraction of rare earth elements for EV batteries alone is projected to increase significantly by 2030, which could exacerbate these impacts.

Additionally, the production and disposal of EV batteries and hydrogen fuel cells can also have environmental consequences. The batteries require significant amounts of energy and resources to produce, and their disposal can lead to toxic waste in landfills.

Economic Costs of EVs and FCVs

The production of EV batteries and hydrogen fuel cells can be expensive due to the ever-increasing cost of rare earth elements and the complex manufacturing processes. According to a study by the International Council on Clean Transportation, the cost of producing EV batteries could increase significantly in the coming years due to supply chain constraints.

Moreover, the cost of building the necessary infrastructure to support EVs and FCVs, such as charging stations and hydrogen refuelling stations, can also be significant. According to the Department for Transport, the UK will need to invest heavily in the infrastructure required to support the mass adoption of EVs.

Analysing the Environmental and Economic Costs of ICEs

Although ICEs have been the dominant mode of transportation for decades, they come with environmental and economic costs. The combustion of fossil fuels in ICEs releases pollutants such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter, which contribute to air pollution and climate change, together with power generation and in fact, anything that burns fossil fuels which is very prevalent in Third World countries across the world.

Moreover, the production and transportation of fossil fuels can also have significant environmental and economic impacts. The extraction and transportation of crude oil can lead to oil spills, which can have severe impacts on marine ecosystems and human health. Additionally, the cost of crude oil can fluctuate significantly, which can have social and economic consequences.

In the UK we also must look at the expansion of congestion zones and ULEZ zones and the massive hikes in electrical energy costs from the grid, many people are starting to install solar PV systems onto their own homes and businesses to reduce these extortionate costs thereby also incurring environmental costs in the productions of these materials, as well.

It does not matter which avenue you take there is always some form of cost to the environment and the world we live in, including a human cost in cheap labour there is a balance that needs to be looked at as a whole subject from birth to death of every type of system that we use.

We are being forced down the electrical avenue at present but without a major increase in prosumers, the cost to individuals and companies from the grid will far outweigh the ability for individuals and companies to pay based on the present circumstances in 2023.

The massive hikes in cost across the board for everything and the huge increases in the cost of living are already at present pricing people out of existence, the fact that so many people are having to use food banks in a country such as ours is an indictment upon the greed of corporate businesses in the UK.

Whether this is the massive surge in profits in the oil industry, the gas industry, the electrical generation industry and so many other industries where the net benefit is never passed back to the consumer.

I like to look at the whole picture, and at present the business landscape that I see has reached the point of milking the stone for double what it can produce.

I do not see this as a sustainable future without some radical changes in business thinking; we are all in business to earn a living and a fair profit otherwise we cannot invest in our business futures or the futures of our operatives in training and in bettering their skills and knowledge however when a select few are the only ones benefiting and the majority are suffering it’s time for a radical rethink just my personal opinion.

In summing up.

The adoption of more sustainable modes of transportation is just one of the hundreds of essentials to reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide and mitigate the impacts of climate change. However, each mode of transportation and energy production comes with its unique environmental and economic challenges that must be considered. As the UK government continues to incentivise the adoption of EVs and FCVs, it must also work to minimize the environmental and human impacts of rare earth element extraction and battery disposal. It must also invest in the necessary infrastructure to support the mass adoption of sustainable modes of transportation and above all support all of humanity, in a fair and just way.

Author

Raphael Magnus IEng MIET, AQE, LCGI, NCRQ, MD