School of Engineering and Technology, UNSW Canberra, 2610 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
Centre for Sustainability and Business, Melbourne Business School, The University of Melbourne, 3053 Carlton, Victoria, Australia.
Environ Sci Technol. 2024 Jul 16;58(28):12297-12303. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.3c09042. Epub 2024 Jul 5.
The ongoing transition toward electric vehicles (EVs) is changing materials used for vehicle production, of which the consequences for the environmental performance of EVs are not well understood and managed. We demonstrate that electrification coupled with lightweighting of automobiles will lead to significant changes in the industry's demand not only for battery materials but also for other materials used throughout the entire vehicle. Given the automotive industry's substantial consumption of raw materials, changes in its material demands are expected to trigger volatilities in material prices, consequently impacting the material composition and attractiveness of EVs. In addition, the materials recovered during end-of-life recycling of EVs as the vehicle fleet turns over will impact recycled material supplies both positively and negatively, impacting material availabilities and the economic incentive to engage in recycling. These supply chain impacts will influence material usage and the associated environmental performance of not only the automotive sector but also other metal-heavy industries such as construction. In light of these challenges, we propose the need for new research to understand the dynamic materials impacts of the EV transition that encompasses its implications on EV adoption and fleet life cycle environmental performance. Effectively coordinating the coevolution of material supply chains is crucial for making the sustainable transition to EVs a reality.
向电动汽车（EV）的持续转型正在改变汽车生产所使用的材料，而电动汽车的环境性能的这些变化的后果还没有得到很好的理解和管理。我们证明，汽车的电气化和轻量化将导致行业对电池材料以及整个汽车中使用的其他材料的需求发生重大变化。鉴于汽车行业对原材料的大量消耗，其材料需求的变化预计将引发材料价格的波动，从而影响电动汽车的材料组成和吸引力。此外，随着电动汽车车队的更新换代，在电动汽车的报废回收过程中回收的材料将对回收材料的供应产生正反两方面的影响，从而影响材料的可用性和参与回收的经济激励。这些供应链的影响将影响不仅汽车行业，而且包括建筑等金属密集型行业的材料使用和相关的环境性能。有鉴于此，我们提出需要开展新的研究，以了解电动汽车转型的动态材料影响，包括其对电动汽车采用和车队生命周期环境性能的影响。有效地协调材料供应链的共同演变对于实现向电动汽车的可持续转型至关重要。
