√Toyota’s top scientist claims hybrids are better for coal-burning nations, such as Australia – report
Electric cars have been heralded as the saviour of environmental challenges, but Toyota’s top scientist says it’s not that simple.
A top scientist from Toyota’s research arm claims hybrid vehicles are better for countries with electricity sourced from burning coal, such as Australia.
News outlet Reuters reports Gill Pratt, CEO of the Toyota Research Institute, said while electric vehicles benefit nations with vast renewable sources of electricity – such as Norway – hybrid vehicles are the answer for regions more reliant on coal-fired power stations.
While electric-vehicle owners in Australia may endeavour to charge vehicles from home solar systems or other renewable sources, many homes and public chargers are supplied with electricity from black or brown coal power stations.
According to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, most of Australia’s electricity is produced from burning black or brown coal.
In April 2023, Mitsubishi published data with almost identical results (below), showing electric vehicles offer the most environment benefit in countries that generate electricity from renewable sources.
This week, Mr Pratt also warned the world did not have enough raw materials to meet an immediate worldwide switch to battery-powered cars.
“Eventually, resource limitations will end, but for many years we will not have enough battery material and renewable recharging resources for a [electric]-only solution,” Mr Pratt said, according to business news outlet Bloomberg.
“Battery materials and renewable charging infrastructure will eventually be plentiful. But it will take decades for battery material mines, renewable power generation facilities, transmission lines and seasonal energy storage facilities to scale up.”
MORE: Toyota boss challenges California emissions plan, bans on new petrol car sales
Toyota has been criticised for being late to introduce electric vehicles to its product line compared to its competitors, however, the Japanese auto giant – the largest in the world by production volume – believes it is better to spread precious battery minerals across a larger number of cars, such as hybrids which halve fuel consumption and emissions.
For example, a Tesla Model 3 Long Range has a battery size of 78.1kWh. That is enough battery capacity to be spread across almost 80 Toyota Camry Hybrids.
The question for policymakers: is it better to have one electric car with a 78kWh battery pack, or close to 80 petrol cars that use half the fuel and half the emissions of a regular petrol vehicle?
The 51kWh battery in the recently-released MG 4 small electric car could arguably be distributed to up to 40 similarly-sized Toyota Corolla Hybrid hatchbacks.
Toyota’s top scientist argues that reducing the tailpipe emissions and improving the fuel consumption of dozens of cars is a better use of the limited battery materials than a single electric car that is powered, in many cases, by electricity generated by burning coal.
MORE: Electric cars threaten environmental disaster
It’s also not clear whether Toyota’s models take into account the assumption of future technologies being brought to market.
Most large car companies are currently spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the development of solid-state batteries – including Toyota –which are widely believed to be the next major breakthrough for electric vehicles.
In January, BMW announced it would begin testing of a car powered by a solid-state in 2023, while Volkswagen Group and Vietnamese newcomer Vinfast are also fast-tracking the technology.
Despite accusations of dragging its feet on electric vehicles, Toyota was the first car brand to develop a concept car using solid-state batteries, debuting the vehicle at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Should car companies be using battery materials for electric cars or hybrids? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
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